100 Things I know About Annie
by ImpulsiveWriter321
Summary: Auggie lists 100 things he knows about Annie - and then expands on them. *Some chapters may be made M* "And where are you going to get picnic food?" "Do not underestimate the fridges of the tech ops. They never disappoint."
1. The List

**This. Took. Forever. But for those that read the third chapter in "Those Moments We Shared", I said I might do something like this – and I did! I will write separate one-shots for all of these, but please be patient! It's going to take a long while! But I hope you enjoy even just the list! **

**100 things I know and love about Annie **

1. She always leaves a cup of coffee on the nightstand, every morning, because she gets up before me.

2. She once left me a tape recorded message when she had to leave early and now we leave them for each other almost every day.

3. She sits through an entire movie with me and narrates the entire thing, even if I had seen it before my accident.

4. She knows when I need to talk and when she needs to rub my shoulders and just be with me.

5. When she gets excited about something, the tone of her voice changes and it's hard to get her to stop talking, but I never want her to stop because she's so happy.

6. She's content to sit at Allen's with me and share a couple beers while we rant about how hectic our lives are.

7. She'll send me plenty of coded emails during work and never misses an opportunity to come up and actually talk to me.

8. When it rains, she loves to go outside and jump in the puddles because her father never let her as a kid.

9. She'll draw little patterns on my arms when we're just laying in bed, just so I can feel that she's there.

10. She doesn't cry often but when she does – I hate it. Absolutely hate it and it makes me feel worse when I can't do anything to help.

11. She always knows when I'm in a mood, and can always defuse me and make me smile again.

12. She sings loudly in the shower and in the car and I never knew that she could sing so well.

13. She describes the sun set to me vividly, and it feels like I'd seen it better than I ever had before.

14. When she's feeling playful, she'll steal the shirt I had laid out before I got in the shower. And she won't tell me where she hid it.

15. She'll play those little games on her phone and makes adorable noises.

16. When she gets irritated, I can feel her nose scrunch up and she pouts.

17. When I'm sick, she'll bring a bowl of her _special_ homemade chicken noodle soup. I never have the heart to tell her it tastes like dishwater.

18. When _she's_ sick, she'll snuggle into my chest and is content to lay there for the rest of the day. I make sure I never have to get up.

19. She loves puppies. Nuff' said.

20. When we get in a fight that isn't huge, she'll sit right outside the door and pout. A couple "I'm sorry's" and a bag of chocolate later, she's sitting in my arms on the couch, munching away.

21. She holds her beer and tequila well...it's everything else she has a problem with.

22. She likes to draw – and while I'll never know if she's as good as everyone says she is, I always stay in a position for a very long time, just listening to her pencil scratch the paper.

23. When she's overseas for a mission, she _always_ calls me at night. If she doesn't I start to worry.

24. When she's not wearing one of my old t-shirts to bed, she wears a long white nightgown that goes to her knees. She says it makes her feel old fashioned.

25. She can get very protective, very quickly. If she feels I'm threatened, she becomes scary Annie and everyone backs away.

26. If I'm ever the cause of her pain, I go to the ends of the earth to fix it. If someone else is the cause of her pain, they'll have to go to the ends of the earth to get away from me.

27. When she brings me a muffin in the morning at work, she'll break off a chunk and call that her payment.

28. She'll leave the last one of everything. The last little bit of milk, the last cookie...everything and anything.

29. She likes to buy a coloring book and color each picture outside the lines. She's says it was her way of breaking the rules as a child.

30. She watches this show called _Arrow_ religiously. She never misses an episode.

31. She wears high heels a lot, but I discovered she has a pair of red converse that she's also particularly fond of.

32. She's knows exactly where my sensitive spots are on my body...and when to lick them.

33. She loves costume parties. And I really should've known what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be the Tigger to her Pooh Bear.

34. When she's on her period, she either gets angry really fast, or cries really easily. Both are equally dangerous.

35. She trusts very easily. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.

36. Put chips and salsa in front of her and they'll be gone in a few minutes.

37. She once told me that it had always been her dream to be a bride in a long white dress. It wasn't much longer before I was down on my knee.

38. Sometimes she'll talk in different languages just to mess with me.

39. She has problems peeling oranges.

40. When she's feeling devious, she'll play hide and seek with me...she's gotten very good.

41. She's admitted that she sometimes has a low self-esteem about her appearance. I never fail to tell her that she's beautiful all the time, every day.

42. I caught her reading a book called "How to Read Braille" once. She had been practicing and had been planning to show me that she could read it at our wedding. I don't think I've ever cried that hard or felt more love toward anyone before.

43. She deals with my crazy, messed up family.

44. She's always loved fireworks, and she'll bounce up and down in excitement, waiting for them to start.

45. I discovered that she had never been to a Homecoming or Prom when she was in high school. I wasn't about to let that go...ask Joan.

46. A week before our wedding, I placed my dog tags in her hands and told her she now held my heart. She never takes them off.

47. She can really work a lap dance.

48. She actually reads a lot. She just never has the time to, and that makes her sad.

49. Not many people can make her blush. I'm proud to say I'm one of the few that can.

50. June, 8th, 2014. The day that Annie Walker became Annie Anderson. And she also became_ mine_. Legally.

51. She loves to slow dance...and drive me crazy at the same time.

52. When she gets _really _drunk, she acts like a three year old.

53. She loves beaches. So she was ecstatic when I finally got to bring her to the Galapagos for our Honeymoon.

54. When she takes a bath, she always puts in too much bubble bath. Always.

55. She's terrified of spiders.

56. She's never had a great relationship with her parents – and I know it hurts her.

57. She gets nervous when she has to talk in front of large groups. But when she gets up there she's flawless.

58. She never really likes to tell me when she's hurt. Either after a mission or otherwise.

59. She comes to me during work for computer help...when there's nothing wrong with her computer.

60. She giggles uncontrollably when you tickle her just under her belly button.

61. She hates puking. Hates it, just because she thinks she looks awful doing it. She wouldn't even let me in the bathroom while she was sick because of that reason.

62. If you leave her alone in front of an aquarium, she'll start to follow one fish and gets disappointed when it disappears.

63. She sometimes forgets that I'm blind – and that's one of the greatest gifts she's ever given me.

64. She ran around the entire house after we had purchased it, because she was so excited.

65. When she gets really nervous I can hear her foot bouncing up and down. I had no idea why she was so agitated until the words, "I'm pregnant. With twins." rushed out of her mouth.

66. She'll sometimes sneak around humming the Mission Impossible theme song. I don't know why.

67. She uses a lot of sticky notes. Sometimes just to decorate.

68. She hates highlighters because she says they always leave marks on your fingers, no matter how careful you are.

69. She always says she's nothing like her sister – but when they're together I beg to differ.

70. She loves our babies. She'll sit and read to them every night, even when she's exhausted.

71. She loves the opera. I always fall asleep, but I know I won't miss the story because she'll talk about all the way home.

72. When she gets cooped up somewhere, like her desk, she gets a slight case of cabin fever.

73. She loves listening to my old record player. She says the sound is much better than her IPod.

74. She likes to come up with little nicknames for me and uses them at the most inappropriate opportunities.

75. To any man who thinks that their wives craving's were bad...they haven't met Annie. I don't know how she stomached the pickle – peanut butter-jelly-hummus – spinach sandwich. I almost puked making it.

76. If ever she's sad (for no reason but her pregnancy hormones) all I have to do is put on What Does the Fox Say. She laughs every time.

77. The first time she felt our babies kick she cried. We both did.

78. Once she learned how to do it, she loved to leave me notes in Braille. And I loved reading them.

79. I found that even at 32 years old, she loves it when I sing Hunter Hayes songs to her.

80. She likes yellow daises, so I filled our bedroom with them on our one year anniversary.

81. She likes to scrapbook, I found, when I walked into the living room to find her sitting on the ground with a large book balancing on her growing belly.

82. She loves walks in the park, especially during the time when fall is around the corner, because she loves the colors of the leaves.

83. She hates it when people think she's incapable of anything just because she's a pretty girl. She's a pretty girl who's taken down more legally classified giants than anyone on this planet. Except maybe Chuck Norris.

84. In her heart, she secretly craves Joan's appreciation. What she doesn't know is that she's already got it – and much more.

85. She has fuzzy blue slippers that she wears every morning. They are the only things she every leaves on the ground. I should know, I stepped on them.

86. Cliché for a man to say, I know, but she's incredible in bed. Not one woman ever comes close to Annie and how Ben left her behind...I'll never understand.

87. Speaking of which, she's never really gotten over Ben Mercer. I can tell that the thought of him still hurts her – all I can do is try to put the pieces of her heart back together little by little.

88. If she's going to have lemonade because she can't drink alcohol, then it has to be straight up lemonade. No pink crap, as she calls it.

89. She insists that our children watch Disney movies, so she makes me watch them with her.

90. Whenever she just wants to relax, she'll grab a bite to eat and sit at the fountain by Langley. She insists that it's an even better time if I join her.

91. She sometimes gets into these "cleaning frenzies." After those, the house is cleaner than when we first bought it.

92. Like any woman, she loves to be kissed. Anywhere, anytime. I take completely advantage of this fact.

93. She was heartbroken when she had to ditch her high heels for flats. However, it was adorable to feel her wobble back and forth as she walked.

94. When she's really bored, she likes to freak me out. And give me multiple heart attacks in the process.

95. She hates the dentist. But who doesn't?

96. When Joan sent her on maternity leave, she didn't handle it well. In her words, she hated feeling like she was useless.

97. She'll spend hours flipping through books filled with baby names.

98. She loves her nieces and my nephews to death, and when I watch her play with them, I get even more excited for the future we were going to have.

99. She's a fantastic mom. I knew she would be, but on December, 9, 2015, she got a dose of it herself.

100. She loves me. I know that for certain as she wears my dog tags around her neck. A wedding ring on her finger. The way she kisses me good morning and good night. The way she loves and protects our children. She loves me. And I couldn't ask for anything more.

**I hope the numbers show up this time...I edited it. And don't worry, the one shots are on their way! Please read and review! **


	2. Coffee

**All right! Heeeeerrrreee we go! :D**

**She always leaves a cup of coffee on the nightstand, every morning, because she gets up before me.**

I could hear tiny bumps and curses from somewhere in the bedroom, but I didn't open my eyes. Most people would freak out if they thought someone was in their room – but I knew it was just my girlfriend. My girlfriend who even though she's a highly trained CIA agent...can't walk around a room without running into something.

There was a particularly large crash, and she swore.

"Honey? Are you alright?"

"I'm...fine, Aug. Just surprised me a little. I was trying not to wake you up." I chuckled and sat up.

"I've been awake for the past ten minutes."

She was probably giving me a look so I just grinned at her.

"It's not fair that you can fake like your sleeping like the dead. You probably could make someone think you were dead just by looking at you." She threw a pair of pants at my face and it draped over my head.

"Hey, no throwing things at the blind guy."

She laughed, that beautiful laugh that I could never get enough of, and gently grabbed my hand.

"Coffee at your two." She guided my hand to the cup and I smiled. As I wrapped my fingers around the handle I caught her by her shirt and dragged her to my lap.

"Auggie!"

"What?" Sipping my coffee, which she made perfectly every morning, I wrapped my arm around her tightly, refusing to let her go.

"I have to get ready. _We_ have to get ready," she giggled as I nuzzled my face against her shoulder.

"We've got time. By the way, what did you run into?"

She froze and laughed nervously.

"Um...it was nothing important."

"You ran into the wall, didn't you?"

"I turned around, and I didn't know I was that close to it! I got hurt more than it did!" I could just imagine her pouting in my direction. I laughed and brought my face to the crook of her shoulder again. This is how it should be every morning, I realized. As long as I had her in my arms, I was set.

"Now tell me. Where did the big bad wall hurt my little Annie?" I whispered in her ear and she shifted against me.

"Um...just my head. A little."

She didn't specify where, but I settled for just peppering kisses on her forehead. She laughed again and tried to push me away. I held her tighter.

"Work can wait." I muttered, setting my cup back on the nightstand. "Thank you for the coffee, by the way."

"It's just like every morning. Why are you thanking me now?"

"I thank you every morning."

"I don't hear it every morning. You're too quiet."

"Because I'm still half asleep."

"Bull shit."

I laughed, a truly happy laugh that I thought I had lost after my accident. I flipped over so that she was pinned underneath me on the bed.

"Why Miss Walker...would you like me to show you how thankful I am?" My face was centimeters from hers, and I could feel her uneven breaths.

"I would..." she trailed off as I started to kiss her neck and make my way upward. Her fingers knotted in my hair and my hands travelled down her body. I finally found her lips and claimed them as she moaned. After we broke apart, I had every intention of continuing, but she put a finger to my lips.

"Now, now, Mr. Anderson. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't give you something to look forward to?" She kissed my cheek and then expertly flipped us again so that she was on top. Kissing along my jaw, she pinned my arms above my head and I didn't even try to move them. When she got to my ear, she leaned forward and sucked a little. I groaned and she giggled. "So, I'll see you after work?"

What?

Suddenly she was off of me and walking toward the bathroom. I sat up quickly, probably looking as flustered as a felt.

"Wait...where are you going?"

"I have to give you something to look forward to right? So...I'll see you after work. You better get dressed, we have to leave soon!" Then the bathroom door shut behind her. I worked to get my breathing under control and blindly reached for the cup that was slowly cooling on the nightstand. Taking a shaking sip, I smiled and shook my head.

That woman drove me crazy. But I seriously couldn't wait till after work.

**This one's really short, just that I can kinda get the feel for how I want these to go. And I'm on a time schedule because I have to get to school...But I wrote it as soon as I woke up because so many reviewed! **** I hope you like it, because second chapter is beginning now! As always, please read and review!**


	3. Recordings

**She once left me a tape recorded message when she had to leave early and now we leave them for each other almost every day.**

My feet fell soundlessly against the rug by our bed and I rubbed my eyes, ridding them of sleep. I could already tell that Annie was gone because her side of the bed was cold. But as I flopped backwards onto her pillow, it definitely still smelled like her. She had to leave early today because she had a meeting with Joan and some guy from the FBI. Apparently, they needed her expertise with languages to help them crack a high profile case. And as happy as I was that she was getting to show off her talents, I missed her. It wasn't often that we actually got to wake up next to each other and just enjoy each others company.

I groaned and flipped over, my hand unexpectedly hitting something. Curious, I picked it up and found that it was an old tape recorder. I flipped it open and found a cassette lying inside and so I snapped it shut and dragged my fingers across it until I found the play button. It was static for a while, until I heard Annie's voice.

_"Good morning, Auggie. If you haven't already guessed, this is Annie. You're girlfriend. I just wanted to leave you a little something since I had to leave early today. I found this old dinosaur while I was helping Danielle clean out her closet before she moved and I kept it. But you like old things, right? I mean you still have your record player..._

_ Off subject. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I hope you have a great day, and I'll hopefully see you sometime during work. I would really like to go to lunch, but I don't know if I'll be able to even get a lunch with how busy I am today. _

_ I'm sorry if I sound a little rushed. I woke up this morning and of course you were still sound asleep so I stared at you for a while. Okay, that sounded really creepy, I mean..I did stare at you just...not...you get what I mean. Anyway, that took up a good chunk of my morning and then I ran out of shampoo while I was in the shower, so I had to get out and grab a new bottle from the closet. I told you those would come in handy. And then I made the coffee wrong the first time, so be thankful that I fixed it before I put some by the bed for you. And even now it's not the best that I've – oh no! Oops...and there goes one of our coffee mugs. Um...I'm okay, I just dropped a mug...that's now shattered on the floor and the coffee went all the way down my blouse and skirt. _

_ So while I clean that up, and you laugh at how clumsy I am, I just want you to know that I love you. A lot. And I hope you're not mad that I dropped the coffee mug because I think it was one of yours..._

_Anyway. I love you so much Auggie. Have a great day at work and don't let Barber run you up a wall. He means well. See you at work, or tonight, whichever comes first."_

There was a beat of static and then the recording stopped. I didn't think it was possible to wipe the mega watt grin off my face. She took the time in her, apparently, hectic morning to leave me a recording on a cassette tape. Not a message on my phone or an email.

Suddenly a thought came to me. I had some blank cassette tapes somewhere...

I quickly jumped out of bed and dove into my closet. After a couple minutes of searching, I found the box I was looking for. I carefully put Annie's tape into my nightstand drawer and inserted a blank one. I took a deep breath and found the record button.

_"Hey Annie. It's Auggie. You're boyfriend._" I grinned at my own little joke and then barreled on. "_I got your message. I'm sorry you had such a crazy morning, and I hope that I can make it up to you. It's okay if you can't make it to lunch, I'll just bring you something and we can eat at your desk. It's not like we haven't done it before. _

_ Also, my record player is not old, it's an antique. There's a difference._

_ I don't find it creepy at all that you stare at me. To add to the creepiness level already in this cassette conversation, I like it when you stare at me. I like that I can distract you by not even saying anything. I hope you liked the view. I just wish that I could reciprocate. I sort of stare at you while you're sleeping, but it's usually just my head turned in your direction while I listen to your breaths. That's my kind of staring. And if that's not creepy I don't know what is..._

_ I never said the bottles in the closet wouldn't come in handy...I just said they took up space. But I'm glad they were there for you. _

_ I would've been fine with any coffee you made. And the cup was probably old anyway, I'm just glad you didn't drop it on your foot – because that's something you would do. I can smell the coffee everywhere, so I'm guessing you just threw your dirty clothes somewhere in here. Man, I wish I would've been awake for that..._

_ I love you, too, Annie. I love you so much, and I have no idea how to put that into words. I stare at you, I kiss you, I hug you, hell, I even serenaded you that night at Allen's, and I still have no idea how to say I love you efficiently. I just need you to know that I'll always be here for you, whether I have to save you from a falling coffee mug or a bullet – I'll take each for you. But actually...try not to get shot at anymore, you give me enough heart attacks as it is."_

I took a deep breath, and finished it off.

_"Never forget that I love you. And if you ever need a reminder, just hug me. I'll never let you go._

_ Have a great rest of your day...or night, whenever you're listening to this._

_ I'll see you soon."_

I pressed the stop button on the recorder and then laid it on her pillow. She'd find it, and it was in a new spot so she'd be sure to listen to it. I smiled as I remembered her words –

_"If you haven't already guessed, this is Annie. You're girlfriend."_

Yeah, that sounded about right.

**Whoo! Two chapters done! On to three! As always, please read and review! :D**


	4. Popcorn

**I am on so many painkillers right now...so if this one seems short and choppy...it's because it is. And this prompt for some reason was very difficult for me to wrap my head around.**

***I'm really hoping I did my math right and that Auggie actually had is accident in 2007 somewhere. If I'm wrong, please correct me!***

**She sits through an entire movie with me and narrates the entire thing, even if I had seen it before my accident. **

"Hurry, Auggie! You don't want to miss the opening credits!"

I chuckled as I dumped the freshly popped popcorn into the large bowl. Annie and I, with some incredible luck, had gotten the same night off. So she came over with movies and popcorn bags piled in her arms.

"I'm coming," I yelled back. "Keep your pants on! Or actually..."

"Maybe later, Romeo. Now hurry!" My insides tingled at her response and I quickly maneuvered my way to where she was sitting on the couch. She scooted over slightly and then draped herself on top of me after I sat down. I placed the popcorn bowl in-between us and settled my chin on top of her head.

The opening credits rolled and Annie began her narration.

I never tell her anymore what movies I have seen and which ones I hadn't, because she's gotten in the habit of narrating all of them anyway. So as the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie glowed on the screen, I heard her take a large breath.

"Their wedding was so pretty. And her dress...gold with white lace. And the castle looks so massive..."

She never actually states the plot of the movie unless I ask her to. She enjoys just stating her opinion about characters and effects of the movie. I just sit and listen to her ramble. I never listen to the movie anymore; it's much more enjoyable to listen to her. She'll get really excited about something and then she'll be really angry at a character and she'll throw a piece of popcorn at the TV. Then she'll apologize and sullenly walk over and pick up the popcorn.

Personally, I find it adorable how she gets into movies so much. She once told me that it was because they were the easiest way to get away from real life and just be a peace for a good two hours. She got to laugh and cry and it wouldn't matter because she's watching fictional characters.

"Ooh...I _hate _Beckett. He's such a tool." And I heard a little piece of popcorn hit the TV. "Sorry...I got angry."

I chuckled and clutched her harder so she wouldn't get up. "It's fine, you throw popcorn all you want."

The only response I got was her munching away on more popcorn.

If someone asked me what was one of my favorite activities to do with Annie, I'd probably surprise them by saying that it was watching movies. Just because when she reacts to a movie, I can picture little five year old Annie, singing along with Ariel and Jasmine. I can picture her jumping up and down during The Jungle Book and dancing with Winnie the Pooh.

She's never told me much about her childhood, so I took what I could get.

"I can't believe that that was his father...Can you believe that, Auggie?"

I shook my head and I knew she felt it. Watching movies was one of Annie's favorite things to do, and I decided that as long as she was happy, I'd do anything she wanted. Letting my eyes slide shut, I filtered the movie's dialogue from Annie's. Her smooth voice quickly lulled me to and in-between spot of alertness and sleepiness. I hadn't even noticed I had fallen asleep until Annie nudged me.

"Auggie? It's the end." I stretched and she giggled.

"What?"

"You look like a cat when you stretch," she explained.

"I'm glad I remind you of a feline," She laughed and tossed a piece of popcorn at me which landed in my hair.

"Hey, now, not fair. You have ammo and I don't..." And suddenly she was off the couch and banging away in the kitchen. "Annie? Annie, sweetheart, what are you doing?"

I felt the couch depress as she sat next to me again and she placed a large bowl in my hands. Then she was gone again, running somewhere.

"Annie...?"

I wasn't ready for the attack. I really wasn't. But soon I was being pelted with tiny pieces of popcorn as she slided around in her socks giggling.

"Oh...so that's how you want to play this?" I chuckled and ducked behind the couch. What she didn't really get was that I knew this apartment inside and out. And I had better traction because I wasn't wearing socks.

It also helped that I had superhuman hearing.

I heard her slide around the island and duck down, so I crawled around the couch to get to the other side of the island. I moved silently toward the fridge and around that way and caught her by surprise.

She yelped and scurried away. I thought she had gone back to the living room, but she decided to be tricky and just went around the island again to get me from behind. Then it was just a full on brawl with our make believe popcorn cannons. Then I got an idea.

I took the entire bowl in my hands and threw it at her, probably completely covering her.

"Ah!" She tipped backwards with surprise and I quickly leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her head in case she ran into something. We ended up on top of each other on the floor, rolling and laughing in popcorn.

Once we settled down we just laid there, basking in the popcorn.

"That...that was fun." She sighed contently and rested her head against my chest.

"Yeah. We should go to war again some other time."

"Maybe with marshmallows."

"Definitely."

We laughed and I kissed the edge of her lips lightly. "Hey, Annie?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for narrating the movie for me."

"Anytime, babe. Anytime."

**I hope it will at least put you over until I can sleep off this medication and get to some easier prompts! Well, eaiser for me anyway! Please read and review! **


	5. Cancer

**First off, thank you all for your kind reviews! You make writing this piece so much more enjoyable! :D**

** This one's a bit more serious than the previous ones, so we get a change of pace! Enjoy!**

**P.S. Does anyone else write about stuff like this and then freak themselves out? I mean, I'm only a senior in high school but still...writing and reading about breast cancer freaked me out! Please check yourself ladies! And men! October is breast cancer awareness month, (one of the reasons why this chapter was centered around this topic) and while thankfully it is one of the more treatable cancers because it can be caught quicker, it is still a big issue! If you or a loved one has been affected by breast cancer I deeply hope that your lives are right now at peace and that you are happy. My cousin had breast cancer, but thankfully it was caught quick enough. Bless all those who haven't made it through, and bless all the others who are fighting it now. **

** She knows when I need to talk and when she needs to rub my shoulders and just be with me. **

"Yeah. I understand. Thank you. Goodbye." I set the phone down shakily, almost missing the table. My knees threatened to fall out from under me, so I quickly plopped down in the nearest chair.

_This can't be happening_.

I buried my head in my hands and tugged my hair.

_She's been so healthy her entire life...what would have changed?_

"Auggie?" I lifted my head slowly. Oh great. Annie was the last person I wanted to see me like this.

"Hey, Annie," My voice cracked and I cursed the tears that were threatening to fall. I felt her rush to my side and she gently wrapped her arms around my shoulders, kneading her fingers into them. She leaned forward into me and rested her head against mine. She didn't say one word.

And that made me lose it.

A sob escaped my throat and I dropped my head into her shoulder. She just kept kneading my back and holding me close. I clung on to her like a lifeline, silently begging her to pull me from the horror that I was in right now.

I'm pretty sure she would have stayed there for hours, but even my tear ducts couldn't cry that long. They slowly dried but I kept my face against her shoulder, ashamed that I would just lose it like this. The last time this happened was my accident, and frankly the only people there were my family. And they weren't the best at consoling, to be honest. Annie was different for me. She was a constant comfort, and I felt awful when she had to see me like this.

"I'm sorry, Annie," I whispered, my throat raw.

"Don't be. I'm here."

It was only then I noticed that she was still in her work attire and that she must have just gotten home when this whole thing occurred. How did I not hear her come in? I slowly released my death grip I had on her, but she didn't let go of me, which I was grateful for. Rubbing the back of my neck, she looked at me patiently, waiting for me to start talking. But I suppose she thought that there was a chance I wouldn't say anything at all, because her mouth stayed shut.

"My mom," I muttered. I don't know where the courage came from, but it reared its head.

"What about her?" She asked, her eyes sad. She could already kind of tell where this was going.

"I got a call from my dad...she had been feeling sick lately so she went in to get checked." I sniffed and took a shuddering breath. "Apparently, they found a lump on her underarm that didn't look right. So they checked it out and..."

I shifted closer to her so that I could lean against her and loosely wrapped my arms around her waist.

"They say she's in stage 2. It's possible that they could still operate and be okay but..."

"Oh, Auggie..."

I broke down a little more and nuzzled into her chest.

"I can't lose her, Annie. She's the only one in my family that didn't shut me out when I told them about my job. I just...I can't..."

"I know." She started rubbing soothing circles on my back and I relaxed just a little bit. "We'll get through this, I promise. Do you want to go see her soon?"

"I need to. Maybe this weekend. Would - "

"I'll come with you." The tiniest of smiles graced my face.

"Thank you."

"I'll call Joan later tonight. Do you need anything else?"

"No. Just you."

"Okay."

She spent the night, still in her work clothes, cradling my head in her lap and singing softly. I didn't even realize it, but the next time I opened my eyes and checked my watch, it was six thirty A.M.

"Annie? Have we been here all night?"

"Yep." I lifted my head and turned to her general direction.

"You're still awake?"

"I wanted to stay up just in case. Maybe your dad would call or you had a bad dream so...yeah." There was silence for a moment, then all I could feel was Annie. I must've surprised her a little because she let out a little "oof!". But I wrapped my arms around her tightly and wouldn't let her go.

The next few days went on like that. At work she'd slid up next to me and pretty much hold me up. I could feel Joan giving me sympathetic glances, but I knew she wouldn't say anything. Everyone could feel the tension. Annie was the only one brave enough to come near me.

Friday came, and all I wanted to do was to get on a plane and head home. My _real _home. But work had to be done and the nation had to be saved...again.

"Auggie?" Her hand was on my shoulder and I spun toward her.

"What's that ringing?"

"It's your phone Auggie. You've been ignoring it." What? I reached forward and sure enough, there was my vibrating cell phone. I flipped it open quickly.

"Hello? Really? You're kidding. Do they know – ? So she'll - ? Okay, yeah, we're coming anyway. Thanks, dad. Bye." I snapped the phone shut and sat there in stunned silence.

"Auggie? Auggie, what happened?" She knelt down in front of me and I couldn't stop the smile from gracing my face.

"They checked her out more thoroughly. With some therapy and surgery...she's going to be okay. They confirmed it."

"Oh, Auggie, that's wonderful!" I could hear the real joy in her voice and she leaned forward to wrap me in a huge bear hug that only Annie could give.

"Thank you for being here. Just...here, you know?"

"I always will be. Now, come on, I think Joan will let us take the rest of the day off before we head to your parent's house."

"And what do you suppose we do with the rest of this fine day?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe get some lunch, finish packing some things, we should really water the plants before we go – "

I laughed and cut her off with a kiss. "We don't have any plants."

"Oops."

And we did do all of that, except the plants, after crawling back into bed for a couple hours. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't wait to go home. Because I wanted to see my mom and even my brothers, although I'm sure they'll immediately go to their 'Let's make fun of Auggie because we never see him and this is our one chance' mentality. But also -

I really _really_ want them to meet Annie.

**Well, how'd it go? I tried my best to be sad...but then that just made me sad. And I'm still freaking out over the idea of breast cancer. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac. **

** But anyway, please read and review! **


	6. California

**Thank you all so much for the kind reviews and the follows/favorites! It means a lot!**

**And now...we take a trip in this one! Yay! **** So, this one will actually be a bit longer. **

**When she gets excited about something, the tone of her voice changes and it's hard to get her to stop talking, but I never want her to stop because she's so happy.**

"Auggie!" Now normally, Annie was very laid back and collected during work, but today she decided to shout my name halfway across the DPD from her desk. It had been leaked to the entire department now that Annie and I were together so no one was really surprised that she was screaming my name. But she probably did get a few stares as she hurried up the stairs and through the sliding glass doors into my office. I heard them slam shut behind her and she was soon sitting on my desk, her legs bouncing uncontrollably.

"What's got you all riled up?" I asked without lifting my fingers from my keyboard. I had gotten so in tune with her that I could double task and get something done while talking to her.

"You'll never believe what just showed up in my email," she whispered, like it was a big secret.

"And what would that be?"

Suddenly, a piece of paper was shoved into my face and she squealed.

"They're from Danielle. Two round tickets to California!" She squealed again and realization dawned on me.

"Ah, so we can go see Danielle?"

"Well, yes, of course, but also she put us up in our own hotel room! Which means when we're not with her we can go sightseeing and stuff!"

I chuckled at her excitement. She _loved_ California, ever since her parents had taken her and Danielle on a family vacation there.

"Haven't you seen everything there is to see in California?"

"Not everything. The beaches specifically...ooh...our hotel has its own private beach! How is that even possible?"

"It probably just owns part of the beach." I resumed my work and smiled at her childlike enthusiasm. "And what do you expect to do when we're not with Danielle and we're not sightseeing?"

She jumped off the desk and spun my chair around so it was facing her.

"Hey – "

She placed a finger against my mouth and leaned forward into me, and I had to try really hard not to grab her and pull her on top of me.

"Now, Auggie. The beds there are very _very _comfortable. We could take some...naps." She slid her finger down my lips and then pulled away. "I also got a new swimsuit. It doesn't cover much, but it's really comfortable."

And with that she sauntered, or at least I think she did, out of my office. I turned back toward my keyboard, expecting to be able to launch right back into my work, but my hands were shaking and my pants were tight.

Damn that woman.

**California **

"Annie!"

"Danielle!" I heard Annie drop her bag and she ran to her sister, who probably met her halfway. I stayed behind a couple steps, letting the sisters have their reunion.

"How are you?" Danielle asked after she released her death grip.

"I'm fine, just fine, you?"

"Great, actually. Michael and I are better than ever and the girls are growing up so well. Now, August Anderson, get your butt over here before I tackle you to the ground!" I chuckled and stepped forward to give Danielle a hug. Annie wasn't kidding when she said that Danielle hugged hard, but I don't think she realized that she hugged harder.

"Are the girls home?" Annie asked after she relocated all her bag and dragged it through the front door.

"No, they're at a movie with Michael. I didn't expect your flight to be on time to be honest."

"We didn't either." I responded. Danielle laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, I've missed you Auggie. Did you guys settle into the hotel all right?"

"Yep. It's beautiful Dani, thank you."

"No problem, little sis." I could tell Danielle had missed her sister and by the way Annie stopped to give her another hug just proved that she missed her, too.

The afternoon consisted of drinks and conversation between the three of us. It hadn't even seemed like an hour before the front door opened and I heard two little girls racing through the front hallway.

"Mom! Mom, where are you?"

"In here sweetie! Come look who came to visit!" I felt Annie stand next to me and then –

"Aunt Annie!" They must have rushed her, because she let out a little "oof" and a laugh.

"Well, look who's here!" Michael showed up on the other side of the couch.

"Hey, Michael," I laughed as he patted me on the back and shook my hand.

"Good to see you, Auggie," he said.

"Uncle Auggie!" A little body suddenly wrapped itself around me and I automatically hugged it back. The voice sounded a little younger so I assumed it was Katia.

"Hey, little one! What have you been up to?"

"Not much. What about you?" I chuckled at how grown up she sounded and responded the same way.

"I get a hug from Uncle Auggie, too!" Chloe squeezed her way in-between us and wrapped her little arms around my neck. Katia responded by gripping onto my waist.

"I've missed you guys, you know that right?"

"We've missed you, too, Uncle Auggie." I smiled and hugged them tighter.

"Alright, let the poor man breathe." Danielle laughed. So they let go of me and went to go attack Annie instead.

"I better go say hi to my sister-in-law, huh?" Michael stood up and made his way over to the elevated conversation between Annie and the girls.

"So, Auggie..." I turned my head toward Danielle's voice and cocked it a little bit.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ever planning on marrying my sister?" Well...that wasn't what I was expecting.

"What?"

"I can tell that you and Annie are pretty serious...so I was just wondering if you had any plans of...you know..." I could sense her hesitation. She just wanted Annie to be happy, and she believed getting married and having a family was a good way to be happy.

She wasn't wrong.

"I...I don't know. If you're asking if I would do it personally? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. But do I think she's ready for it? I don't know. I just...I don't know."

I could feel Danielle's eyes burning into my skull.

"But you would ask her?"

"Immediately."

"Good. I mean...I like you, Auggie. You're really good for her. Ever since she met you she's been...different. In a good way. So thank you for that."

"No thanks necessary." She suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me a little farther to the side.

"I know she wants to, Auggie. She loves you, so much. I can see that without her telling me but she never misses an opportunity to tell me. I know that whenever you ask her, because I know you will...I know she'll say yes."

I was speechless for a moment, then I smiled.

"Thank you, Danielle."

"No thanks necessary." Then she must have turned toward the girls. "Alright, you two, you need to head to your rooms and do your homework. You'll be able to play with Annie and Auggie tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay..." The two slowly trudged up to their rooms and we said our goodbyes to Danielle and Michael. We promised to meet them for lunch the next day, but for tonight we were going back to the hotel to crash. It was hard to tear Annie away, she was again so excited and couldn't stop talking. Danielle was the same way so Michael practically pulled Danielle into the house while I pulled Annie out of it.

**At the hotel**

"I still can't believe this place has a mini bar..." Annie slipped a wine glass into my hand as I lounged on the couch.

"Don't you think we've had quite enough to drink already, Miss Walker?"

"Oh not quite." I heard her shuffle toward me and I thought she was going to sit down next to me but instead she straddled my lap, running one hand up my chest and neck. "We might need a lot more."

"If you're trying to get me drunk to have sex...you should know that you don't need to go that far," I whispered as my hand traveled up her leg.

"Yeah...but it's a fun touch." I placed the wine glass on the table while she kissed up my neck.

"We're not getting any sleep tonight, are we?"

"Nope. And then tomorrow...we get to go sightseeing!" Her voice raised a couple octaves again and I smirked as she went off about how she wanted to go to all these things. She seemed to forget that she was still straddling me. I brought her face down to mine and placed a rough kiss on her lips. When we broke apart she didn't talk anymore, just reached forward to kiss me again.

Well...I guess that's one way to distract her.

**The end of this one got away from me. I didn't want it to get to long...so...that happened. Didn't fit the prompt that well but...oh well! I hope you liked it! As always, please read, review, favorite, follow, and I shall send you virtual cookies! They're delicious! :D**


	7. Beer

**You know what you awesome reviews and followers get for being awesome? Two chapters in one day. Yep, this happened.**

**She's content to sit at Allen's with me and share a couple beers while we rant about how hectic our lives are.**

"I bet we're on like our...fourth beer." She slid a cold mug into my outstretched hand and I sighed contently as I brought it to my lips.

"Are we? I lost count..."

"You always lose count."

"Touché."

Annie and I were currently sitting at our personal table at Allen's bar after a long hard day at work. I was surprised I was even still allowed in this bar, after I broke a beer bottle over a guy's head...but I guess that was all water under the bridge now. We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. I could tell she wanted to say something, but she didn't bring it up. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Is something bothering you?"

"What?"

"You seem...uncomfortable." She had been bouncing her legs up and down and letting out little sighs of discomfort ever since she came home from a mission in Germany.

"I am...just a little," My heart started to race at her comment. Was she uncomfortable with me? What had I done or said that made her feel that way?

"I'm sorry, I never meant to – " I began, but she cut me off.

"Oh, no, Auggie, it's not you!" She grabbed my hand with both of hers and squeezed. "It's not you. You're really the only good thing I'm hanging onto right now. Sitting here is the highlight of my week."

"Well, that's reassuring. But now I'm curious about the rest of your week." I set my beer on the table and took our conjoined hands in my other one. "What happened during the mission that you haven't told me? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt, at least not majorly. I've just had...a hectic week..."

And then there was no stopping her.

"It's just...Joan gave me this mission on Sunday night, through an _e-mail_, and expected me to be on a plane Monday morning. You remember that, you were there! I wanted to decline, really I did, but she said that I was the only agent who could pull it off and so I said yes, and you know how cranky I was that Monday morning. It was not a fun plane ride either. The seats were small and uncomfortable and of course I was in coach and this little boy sat behind me and kept kicking my seat and the mother did nothing! And then the mission went awry – but you know that – and then when I got home tonight, I realized that I had forgotten to repack one of my favorite shirts and that it was still in the bathroom at the hotel in Germany. The one that Danielle got me for Christmas? Yeah, that one! And I'm just...I'm spent."

She dropped her head against our hands. I really didn't know what to say in this situation. It seemed like she just need to rant to someone, and that someone happened to be me. But I didn't mind. If I was going to have Annie I had to take her at all her moments, not just her good ones.

"I'm done ranting now. You don't have to worry about me biting your ear off." Her voice was muffled against our intertwined fingers. I chuckled and brought one hand away to rake it through her hair.

"It's all right, we all need to rant once in a while." She lifted her head.

"What about you? How was your week?" My hand that was going through her hand fell onto the table limply at her movement and I quickly covered it by grabbing my beer.

"Now that you mention...not too great."

"Why?"

"You weren't with me most of the time." She laughed and slapped my shoulder gently.

"Stop it...seriously, was your week as bad as mine?"

"Not quite. But I did have plenty of codes to cipher through that were tricky and kept resetting themselves while I was working. Then half my team called in sick, and I _know_ that some of them weren't, so we were seriously understaffed. Joan got on my back a little bit because I had fallen behind on those codes while I was helping you – "

"I'm sorry..."

"Annie. You are my top priority when you're out there. Joan knows that she just...thinks I could handle myself better."

"You don't handle yourself well?"

I took a swig of beer before answering.

"I get a little...jittery. Maybe a little loud. Okay, really loud."

"I know...I hear you loud and clear." I smirked and rubbed my thumb up and down her hand.

"Anyway, Joan apparently wasn't having a great day either, because she got on my ass for that little escapade. Then Fred was late to pick me up through no fault of his own, he got stuck in traffic after a semi ran off the road. And every day this week has just been...blah. Especially without you here and I mean that honestly."

"Aw, I'm glad to know I brighten your day." The beer in her hand swished around as she shook it gently.

"You do."

I heard her get up and drag her chair closer to mine. She sat down again and leaned against me as I wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Just so you know...you brighten my day, too." I smiled.

"You're welcome."

She giggled, the beer finally starting to take some affect on her.

"You know...there's a lot of women here who are giving me death stares."

My arm automatically tightened around her.

"What?"

"Probably because I'm with you. They must have thought you were still single."

"Do they seem like regulars?"

"Yep, I've seen them here before."

"You'd think they'd put it together then. We kiss almost every time we're here." I said the last part into her hair and she snuggled closer.

"Yeah...but I don't think that makes it any eaiser for them. You know..." Her bottle made a clanging sound as she forcefully placed it on the table. Her thin arms slid up around my neck and she planted a warm kiss on my lips. I was surprised at first, but it didn't take me long to respond, deepening the kiss. I could hear them now, cursing Annie to Hell and back. But I didn't care.

Too soon she pulled away, breathing heavily. She leaned against me again and snickered at the girls.

"Yep...I'm here with the sexiest guy on the planet and I get to kiss him whenever I want. Be jealous."

"I'm sure the guys are thinking the same thing. Jealous that a blind guy gets the hottest girl in the room." I nuzzled her neck and she giggled. That wasn't a lie...there were plenty of men at the bar who I heard even tonight appreciating Annie's legs. They're lucky I didn't knock their lights out right then and there.

"You know...we could keep doing this."

"Making people jealous?"

"Yep! And we get to make out in the process."

"Done."

"Good! Then we need more beer." She sat up quickly and flagged down a waitress.

"Two more, please!"

And suddenly, our weeks got a whole lot better.

**And there it is! This one's a little more playful, and I had fun with it! Granted I'm really tired and it's late for me...but I hope you like it! Please R&R and share with friends!**


	8. Codes

**I AM SO SORRY. The past two days have been absolutely hectic for me with an emergency trip to a walk in clinic and family issues. But thankfully, it seems that all that has been sorted through. **** To make for me missing two days, I'll challenge myself to get out as many chapters as possible today and tomorrow. Thank you for being patient, and I hope you like it! **

**Warning – This one has some..sexual themes in it. Nothing too racy, but just letting you know.**

**She'll send me plenty of coded emails during work and never misses an opportunity to come up and actually talk to me.**

To say I was bored would be an understatement.

I mean, I'm the great "Auggie Techie", who usually has plenty of jobs to shuffle through and complete and now I'm sitting in my chair having a thumb war with myself.

I couldn't tell if my left or right hand was winning...

I didn't have to wonder much longer though, because my computer let out an indignant noise. I scooted my chair over and opened the email I had just received to my work address...from Annie.

_"New mission in Washington D.C. War between the east and west gang leaders, unclear who is ahead." _ The automated voice read her email out loud and my brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell is she talking about? My computer dinged again, but this time it was email to my personal email – again from Annie.

_"Your thumb war genius. I don't think I've ever seen you look so pitiful."_

I chuckled. Of course she would be watching me.

I quickly typed –

_"At least I haven't resorted to spying on people. Why did you send an email to my work address if we have this one? Or couldn't you just text me?"_

Pressing send, I leaned back in my chair. I had made that personal address just for Annie and I specifically, so we didn't _have _to code all our messages. I even had her under a code name so that if anyone saw these they would see a random name that meant nothing. A ding interrupted my curious thoughts, and soon we sending messages back and forth in a whirlwind.

_"I'm not spying on you, I can see you perfectly well from this board room. I'm just across the DPD. Also, I have fun coding emails thank you very much. It's like a puzzle. And you left your phone at home, remember?" _Oh yeah...

_ "What are you doing in a board room?"_

_ "Mandatory meeting for this upcoming mission. Joan said I was the best agent for the job. You know what it is? A simple drop and go. That's it. If I'm the best agent for that kind of mission than I seriously have been misinformed of my place here."_

_ "I'm sure Joan knows that you can do it quick and easy and then she won't have to worry about it. You know that you're the best agent in the DPD, we all do. Why is there a mandatory meeting for a simple drop and go?"_

_ "I really have no idea. These guys are from the FBI and they're just dragging on and on about stuff I already know. I don't know how I haven't fallen asleep yet and even Joan looks like her head is about to hit the table."_

_ "Stay awake, student. Otherwise they'll hit you with a ruler."_

_ "And then I'll drop kick them. No one hits me with a ruler."_

_ "No one should hit you at all."_

_ "True. Say, you wanna try that new Italian restaurant down the street for lunch? I hear they've got the best chicken alfredo..."_

_ "Anything you want, I'm up for anything."_

_ "Anything at all?"_

_ "Yup."_

_ "What about after work? "_

_ "I don't think I'll be very hungry after work...?"_

_ "I wasn't suggesting food, silly."_

_ "Then what were you suggesting?"_

_ "Well, I haven't been home much, and whenever I am home you aren't so since we'll both be home tonight before I leave for this mission, I was just thinking...maybe...we could...have a night alone together. ;)"_

_ "That's a very subtle and wordy way of saying it."_

_ "Oh don't say that you haven't been thinking about it."_

_ "Damn. You got me there."_

_ "I knew it. You can't resist me."_

_ "You are very irresistible."_

_ "I can hear your sarcastic bite from here. And I didn't mean just sex. I really do just want to spend a night with you. I miss you."_

_ "I miss you, too. I can't wait for lunch...and after work. ;)"_

_ "__ Oh boy, I better take a breather, I'm getting stared at by these guys. I'll come up and talk to you the minute I get out of here."_

_ "Sounds good. Love you."_

_ "Love you, too."_

"Hey, Auggie?" Barber's voice cut through my perfect little cloud and I jumped about five feet in the air. Clutching my chest, I tried to get my breathing back to normal.

"Barber!"

"Sorry man! Usually I can't sneak up on you at all so I thought you had heard me!" I slid my headphones off my head and wiggled them in his direction. Although I've always been able to hear outside noises with them on, I didn't want Barber to think that he had actually successfully snuck up on me...which he had.

"What do you need?"

"We've got an incredibly complicated code that was just sent to us. Stu and I can't handle it on our own."

"Alright, alright, give me a second." I bent down to tug my laptop out of my bag.

"Um...Aug? Please tell me those are coded." I brought my head up so fast that I forgot I couldn't go straight up. Rubbing the back of my head I quickly closed the emails that were up on my computer.

"Um...yeah. They are."

"Those are some...interesting codes. What do they stand for?" Aw, hell. How was I going to dig myself out of this one?

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" My saving grace.

"Oh, hey, Annie. No, Auggie and I were just...talking."

"Oh...okay?" My face must have been as red as a tomato. But Barber couldn't know that the recipient of those emails were Annie, could he?

"You know, it's almost lunch time. How about we just work on that code afterward, Aug?"

"Yeah, yeah, sounds good."

"Awesome. See you later, guys."

"Bye, Barber." We chorused.

"What was that all about?" Annie asked, leaning on my desk.

"A moment of complete and utter humiliation." Groaning, I dropped my head on my desk.

"Why?"

"He saw the emails."

"Oh no." She suddenly seemed as humiliated as I was. Her voice suddenly got really quiet. "He doesn't know they were to me, right?"

"Let's hope not. Now come on, we have alfredo waiting for us." I pushed away from my desk and gently gripped onto her arm.

Walking past the tech office, Annie and I just chatted away like we usually did, but we overlooked one little detail.

"I _knew_ it." Apparently, Barber must have slipped away somewhere because I didn't hear him again. Knew what? Oh...Annie and I had talked about lunch in those emails...oops.

"Uh oh, looks like our secrets out," Annie moaned.

"Eh, it's just Barber. Those emails probably scared him. He'll be in shock for a couple days."

"They weren't that bad – "

"This is Barber we're talking about, Annie."

"Oh...yeah." I laughed as she guided me through the parking lot to her car. As she was getting in on the other side, her phone buzzed.

"It's from Barber..."

"What does it say?"

"'Annie – I know Auggie forgot his phone so I sent this to yours instead. I'm happy for you guys, and as long as you promise not to scar me with any more of your flirty emails, I won't tell a soul. Have a nice lunch."

"Aww..." I smiled at Annie's reaction. She always had a soft spot for Barber. I opened my mouth to say something but then her phone buzzed again.

"'And Auggie – don't screw up. I told you that you hit the jackpot so don't you dare go give it away.'"

"Of course he would." I chuckled and shook my head.

"When did he tell you that you hit the jackpot?"

"Another story for another time. But could we stop at home really fast?"

A couple minutes later she pulled in front of my apparent building. I ran up the stairs and then into the apartment, almost tripping on a coat that had fallen to the floor while we were gone, where I found my phone sitting on the kitchen table. I send a quick text to Barber and then raced back down the stairs to finally have some alone time with my girlfriend.

**At the DPD – Tech Ops**

Eric Barber was working hard to crack the code, but his mind was elsewhere. He had thought Annie and Auggie were together, but he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he was _right._ Suddenly, his phone rang. Flipping it open, he read a text message from Auggie.

_Don't worry. I won't._

Barber smiled, happy that his boss had finally found someone...and that Auggie wouldn't be moping around here much anymore. Ever since Annie came, Auggie was just generally a nicer person to be around.

After that, Barber had no trouble cracking the code on his computer. Because if he could crack even a little bit of the code that was Auggie and Annie –

Then this one was in the bag.

**I took a little different spin on this one – and it has someone else's point of view other than Auggie's! Whoo! That won't happen often, only once in a while. And Barber knows. O.O As always, please Read and Review and I shall send virtual cookies!**


	9. Rain

**Again, thank you for all the kind reviews! I PROMISE that this one WILL BE FINISHED. Heck, I may even do a sequel from Annie's point of view to Auggie. Then the fun starts all over! :D **

**P.S. This is what I listen to every time I write a chapter – listen to it if you want on Youtube! It's so relaxing and it's great romantic music! Just type in the search bar – Slow Music Instrumental ROMANTIC GUITAR Slow Love Songs for Studying Calm STUDY Musik playlist. Just like that – it looks weird, I know, but it's got slideshows of beaches and it's 23 minutes and 41 seconds long. It's worth it! **

**When it rains, she loves to go outside and jump in the puddles because her father never let her as a kid.**

I didn't have to be able to see to know that it was pouring sheets of rain outside. The constant pounding on the windows was keeping me from falling into a peaceful sleep as I laid on the living room couch. Ever since my accident, I had never liked the rain because it made everything more difficult for me. The smells were washed away and anything I touched was just – wet. I made it a point to just stay indoors when it rained, but now even the sound of it irritated and saddened me. I used to love the rain. Just another thing that was ruined for me, I guess.

Annie was somewhere in the bedroom, doing something on her computer. I had tried to call to her earlier, but she didn't respond, meaning she probably had her headphones in. I decided it was best not to disturb her when she was so zoned out – she tends to attack if someone freaks her out.

I was almost completely asleep when Annie's voice reached my ears.

"It's raining! Auggie, why didn't you tell me it was raining?" I sat up on my elbows and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"How did you miss it? It's been raining for about two hours now."

In a second she was sitting next to me on the couch, her delicate yet calloused hands on my shoulders.

"Can we go outside?" Her voice held a childlike excitement and her fingers subconsciously squeezed my shoulders.

"Why? Have you missed the part where it's cold, damp and dark out there?"

"I know! But there's...well..." The last part of her sentence was muddled and her fingers slipped off of me so I leaned forward.

"What was that?" I caressed her cheek gently as she looked down.

"I'm sorry, that was embarrassing. It's just...I'm so comfortable with you that – "

"Annie. What are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath before she answered. "When I was younger, I always wanted to go outside and jump in the puddles when it rained. Danielle never wanted to, but to me it looked like so much fun and all the kids would talk about it the day after a rainstorm at school. But whenever I asked if I could go outside and do it, my dad would say no. Not because there was a possibility of me catching a cold, or falling...he just didn't want his daughter – as he said it – looking like a idiot on the streets. And you don't like the rain anyway, so forget I mentioned it."

A single tear slipped down her face. I quickly wiped it away and brought my forehead to hers. I couldn't believe I was doing this...but it was Annie.

"I think all our rain stuff is up in the closet."

Her head snapped up. "Do...do you mean -?"

"Let's go jump in some puddles."

I could feel her smile against my hand and she was excited again. She raced to our closet and I heard her pulling large boxes down. "Don't hurt yourself!"

"I've got it!" I walked into our bedroom and suddenly something landed against my chest.

"What's this?"

"A rain boot. Here, this is the other one. And a large jacket!" I laughed as it draped over my head. Suddenly, her arms were wrapped around me and her voice was a little timid. "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely."

Soon, Annie was practically pulling me down the stairs to the main door.

"There's a park not far from here, I'm sure you know that, and I know that there are puddles there."

"I bet there is," I chuckled. We ducked through the door and into the massive rainstorm. It was colder than I thought it would be, but there wasn't much wind. Just like every time before, my sense of smell went out the window and when I touched a nearby lamp post, all I felt was wet metal. I didn't like it. Annie pulled on my hand again.

"Careful, don't run into any vehicles – moving and non moving."

"I can still see, smartass." She laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist. I pulled her closer. We walked in silence for a couple minutes then I heard her gasp.

"I knew it! I knew there would be puddles." She seemed pleased so I released my grip on her.

"See a puddle you like?" I felt like we were picking out a puppy instead of a puddle.

"Yep!" She let go of my hand and then I heard a large splash. Actually, I felt it, too, because the water covered me from about my chest down. Annie's magical laughter broke through my initial shock.

"Sorry, it was just too good to resist! And if it makes you feel any better, I'm _completely_ soaked. I'm sitting in it actually." The mud squeaked as she stood and ran off somewhere. I heard splash after splash and giggles in-between. I just listened and smiled as I leaned against a nearby tree. It at least guarded me from some of the rain.

After a couple minutes I heard her run up to me.

"Come on, Auggie! You have to do it with me!"

"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea – "

Her muddy hand slid into mine and she leaned her head against my shoulder. "Pretty please, Auggie? Will you jump in puddles with your awesome girlfriend?"

Oh God, her pleading voice. I _hated_ it when she used her pleading voice –

Because there was no way I could say no.

"All right, let's go."

"Yay!" I was tugged from my spot on the tree and pulled into the brunt of the storm again. We came to stop a couple steps later.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. You're going to have to guide me to where it is, though."

"It's right here," she gently pushed my foot until it found the tip of the puddle. "Just a little jump."

"Sounds good," I wasn't really looking forward to getting completely wet, but if she wanted me to jump, I'd jump a thousand times.

"One...two...three!" The puddle was actually deeper than expected and it covered up to our shins. Annie let out a high pitched giggle and I laughed along with her. I had done this all the time as a kid, so the glory of it left me years ago, but for Annie, this was her first time and it made me wonder what else she hadn't experienced.

"I guess it's not as fun for you, is it?"

How the hell does she do that?

"As long as I'm with you, it's fun." I leaned forward until I found her cheek. I pecked it lightly and she grinned.

"Then you won't mind a little mud war."

"Mud – "

I guess I should have expected it. Within seconds I was on my butt in the puddle, wet mud sliding up my back.

"Catch me if you can!" Her footsteps ran farther away. She wanted a mud war? Then it was _war._ As we ran around throwing mud and tackling each other into the mud, it reminded me a little of when we had a popcorn war at the house. When I had her pinned underneath me I whispered,

"Consider this our popcorn rematch."

She gasped in recognition.

"Oh, it's _on._" Then she flipped us over and ran off.

I couldn't tell you how long we were out there, just playing in the rain. It must have been a couple hours until we collapsed against the tree, breathing heavily and huddling together for warmth.

"We're going to get so sick," She muttered.

"Yeah, but it was worth it."

"Really? You had fun?" I hugged her tight.

"I did. When I jumped in puddles with my brothers, it was usually them _pushing_ me into the puddles, so this was much more enjoyable."

"I pushed you into a puddle." She said guility.

I laughed and kissed her head.

"Yeah, but you're different."

"You know what else I've always wanted to do?"

"Hmm?"

"This," her muddy hands grabbed my face and pulled me down to meet hers. Our lips crashed together and after a moment of shock I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her closer, opening my mouth into the kiss. Our tongues battled for dominance as her hands slowly went under my jacket and t-shirt to rest on my clammy skin. My fingers knotted in her hair and I groaned as I felt the heat from her fingertips on my stomach. After a couple minutes, which felt way to short for my liking, we broke apart for air.

"Yeah. Kissing in the rain is as good as the movies make it out to be," She said wistfully. I grinned.

"How about we continue this at home then? The bathtub could be our giant puddle."

"Sounds like a plan." She stood up quickly and pulled me up. Skipping a little bit ahead of me, she hopped into the little puddles on the sidewalk and I could hear some other bystanders whispering about how cute we looked, walking hand in hand probably with stupid grins plastered on our faces.

We helped each other get undressed the moment we stepped into the apartment and it was hard for me to let her go to start the bath. But it wasn't long until her slender arms wrapped around me from behind and her warm mouth left trails of kisses on my back.

That night, my perspective on rain changed. Rain was now linked with the memory of Annie and I running around, jumping in puddles, and kissing underneath a tree as rain streamed down our bodies and faces.

Now when I thought of rain, I didn't think of my accident.

I thought of Annie.

**Just a little sappy piece for your Sunday. **


	10. Patterns

**Here's another one for Sunday! Whoo!**

**WARNING – this chapter is rated M. So if you don't feel comfortable, I advise to you to either skip the chapter or just read until you get too uncomfortable and skip that spot. Also, I've never actually written a scene like this, so I hope it's okay for a first timer. It's not along scene, but don't say I didn't' warn you, there's no censoring. **

**And I lied a little...I listened to Safe and Sound by Jason Chen while writing this one. I just...that song...ugh.**

**She'll draw little patterns on my arms when we're just laying in bed, just so I can feel that she's there. **

It was these days that I wished would just go on forever and ever. I could feel the warm rays of sun on my back and the lean body of Annie under my left arm. I couldn't tell if she was awake yet, because her breathing was still steady and balanced. So I shut my eyes again and matched my breathing with hers. It was a little trick that I discovered we could do.

I sighed in contentment and drifted back into an easy sleep.

I couldn't tell how long I had slept, but when I woke up next, I felt a slight pressure on my arms. The pressure moved slowly, making circles and triangles and squiggles. It was a different feeling, but it was pleasant. I must have shifted a little because suddenly the pressure was gone.

"Auggie? Are you awake?"

"Now I am."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"That was you?" I lifted my head to place it on my crossed arms.

"Yeah. You were restless, so I thought it would help," she admitted.

"I was restless? I wasn't dreaming..."

"You must have been, you just can't remember."

"Hmm." We laid in silence for a while. For some strange reason, ever since Annie stopped drawing on my arms, it felt like I was missing something. "Hey, uh, Annie?"

"Yes, Aug?"

"Could you...would you, uh, would you mind drawing those patterns again?"

"Of course."

The feathery pressure of her fingers returned on my skin. The patterns started simply enough again – circles, squares, other shapes. But then they became more intricate, sometimes actually pictures, other times just random lines. The little hole that I found inside me was quickly filled. This went on for about ten minutes until Annie laughed under her breath.

"What?"

"Your face. You're acting like this is the most pleasurable thing in the world," She laughed again as her fingers slid down my arms to the back of my hands.

"It is very pleasurable, maybe not in the _world_, but it ranks pretty high up there." Her finger trail left my hands and made their way up to my shoulders and neck.

"It's just random patterns. What's so pleasurable about it?" She asked honestly.

"It's a feeling, and I strive on feelings – "

"Oh, of course."

"And that it's coming from you."

"From me?" Her hands froze for a split second before they continued onto my back.

"Yeah. I can promise you that this wouldn't be that pleasurable if it was someone else doing it."

"Well, I'm happy to know that I'm special," she said.

"You are very special," She slapped my back slightly while laughing. "Why did you start?"

"What?"

"Why did you start drawing patterns? I know I was restless, but why didn't you just wake me up?"

She was silent for a moment, then her soft voice reached my ears.

"I didn't want to wake you in case you were dreaming of...well, of your accident. You're always a little violent and scared if you're woken up from one of those. So, I thought if I just started touching you, your body would realize that it's actually laying in a bed with me, and not getting shot at in Iraq. I just wanted you to know that I was here."

I laid in frozen shock for a moment. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. All I could do was feel. I felt, well shock mostly, but I also felt love. Love was practically spewing from every part of my body and onto Annie. I can't remember how many times I had told her that I loved her, but know I knew officially, _I loved Annie Walker._

I pushed myself up and wrapped myself around her body, clenching her in a bear hug. I hadn't noticed it before, but there were tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Auggie? Auggie, what's wrong?" She could probably feel the tears dripping off my face and onto her shoulder.

"It's...I..._I love you._" Was all I could manage. Her warm arms wrapped around me again and started tracing patterns again.

"I love you, too." I let myself relax into her and we just laid in a tight ball on her side of the bed. I slid my hands up and down her back as her fingers started doing a little tap dance on my middle back.

I know we laid like that for hours, but I didn't care. If we spent our entire weekend off just laying in bed together, it might be the best weekend I've had for a long time.

"We should probably get up soon." She whispered, her voice a little hoarse from disuse.

"I don't want to," I muttered into her shoulder.

"Don't want to, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then..." Her hands slowly fluttered downward to my lower back as she kissed my jaw line lightly.

"Hmm," I moaned in contentment. Her hands skipped to my upper thighs, where she tugged lightly on the sweatpants I was wearing.

"Aren't you a little hot in these?" She asked, breathlessly.

"A little," I muttered as I returned her kisses. My hands found their way up her T-shirt, which was actually mine, and they rested on her waist. She gave a hard pull on my sweatpants and then fell down to around my knees. I helped her kick them off, as my hands pulled the T-shirt over her head. I placed my hands above her as her legs wrapped around my waist.

I dipped my head to leave a trail of light kisses down her neck and around her collarbone. She wiggled and let out a sigh of contentment. One of her hands raked through my hair as the other fluttered over my side, leaving little warm spots. I moved my way down her body and my kisses began to go under her collarbone. She wasn't wearing a bra, thank goodness. I don't think I would have had the patience to work with those awful contraptions. I brought one of my hands from above her head to massage her breast and she mewled in appreciation.

I chuckled at her noise then dipped my head again to gently suck on the breast I wasn't massaging. She hated it when I teased her like this, but I couldn't help myself. Her hands glided back down to my boxers, giving them a light tug. I smiled and switched to her other breast.

"Aug..." I lifted my head at her groan and gave my signature grin.

"Yes, sweetheart?" She slapped me lightly on the back again, but this time it sent a shiver of pleasure through me.

"Stop being a...oh...tease," I had hooked my fingers into her underwear as she was talking, surprising her a little.

"Oh, and your little patterns weren't teasing?" I muttered lowly.

"You want teasing patters?" She suddenly grabbed my shoulders and flipped us over. She straddled me and placed two fingers on my chest as she leaned forward to my ear. "I'll give you teasing patterns." Her fingers trailed all around my chest, outlining my abs and lightly flicking my nipples. I groaned and gripped her waist to keep her there. Rolling against her a little as her she pressed a little harder on my stomach, I quickly slid her underwear off as far as they would go and she took care of the rest. Now she was completely bare and I was laying here in nothing but my boxers.

"Well this isn't fair, is it?" She purred in my ear. She copied what I had done only minutes before and kissed down my chest till she got to edge of my boxers. Using her teeth, she took an excruciatingly long time to pull them all the way off. By the time she crawled back on top of me, I was as hard as a rock and my entire body was shaking with desire. I wrapped my arms around her again and rolled us so I was on top, kissing her roughly the entire time. I nibbled on her ear lobe and she bucked a little.

"Auggie...please." That was all the encouragement I needed. I lifted myself up so that I wasn't completely crushing her, but her hands kept running up and down my back, tracing those damn patterns. I positioned myself but brought my head back down to her ear.

"Are you sure?" I never wanted to hurt her. Ever.

"For Christ's sake, do you always have to ask?" She laughed lightly as she kissed me roughly again. "Of course I'm sure." I pushed into her then, and she let out a surprised gasp. We had always moved as one, from the first day we met. It was natural, not awkward, for me to have grabbed onto her arm at that moment. When I moved just a little bit around her, she countered just like we were the earth and the sun. Being intimate with each other was no different.

"God, Annie," I groaned into her shoulder. All I got in response was a whimper. We were never very loud, unless we were drunk, but I swore on that moment that I was drunk off of her. Just like our breathing, we almost always came together. So it wasn't a surprise that when I reached my top, she did, too, and she gently bit my neck to keep from crying out.

Afterward, we laid in our little ball again, just basking in the sun, laying little kisses on each other's face.

"We should make that a Saturday morning tradition," she sighed after our breathing was slightly back to normal.

"Agreed. I love you, Annie."

"I love you, too, Auggie."

And as she again traced little patterns on my shoulders, I tried to memorize each one, just as I had memorized her. A circle, a square, a kiss, a house. Every pattern let me know that she was there for me -

And I wanted to keep her around for eternity.

**Well? Love it? Hate it? Please be honest, especially about the sex scene. I tried to make it as realistic and loving as possible, and not too...um, raunchy...so that more people could enjoy it. Positive feedback and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! **


	11. Tears

**I'm so sorry, guys! I'm at that stage in school now where I'm applying to college after college and it's taking up a whole bunch of my time! I will try so very hard to get a chapter out every day, maybe more per day if I can fit it in, but I can't make a guarantees! I took the only two hours of free time I've had the past three days to write this little snippet for you guys. **** Hope you enjoy!**

**She doesn't cry often but when she does – I hate it. Absolutely hate it and it makes me feel worse when I can't do anything to help.**

I thought I had heard some of the worst sounds in the world.

I had heard men fall to the ground dead after being shot multiple times. I had heard the sound of our vehicle exploding into a million pieces.

I had heard the doctor say that I was probably never going to see again.

But when I walked into the apartment after work, I heard a new noise, one that floored me even harder than the explosion had.

I heard it just as sniffles at first. Then as I walked through the apartment, it turned into sobs that were coming for our bedroom. I ran the last few steps and almost slammed into the closed door.

"Annie? Are you okay?" She just sobbed harder. I made my way over to her and climbed up on the bed where she was currently seated. Gingerly reaching my hand out, it came to rest on her head which I assumed was in between her knees. I slowly grabbed her and curled her into my chest. "What's wrong?"

She didn't speak. She just clung onto my shirt and cried. I think she tried to say some things, but her words turned into squeaks. I let her cry into my chest, murmuring soft words to her while rubbing her back.

"It's okay, baby, I'm here. I'm here." Her arms wrapped tightly around me and slowly but surely her sobs became a little bit quieter. She lifted her head slightly and rested it on my shoulder.

"I'm sor-sorry," She hiccupped.

"It's okay. Cry all you need, it's okay." My hand never stopped rubbing her back and I never moved my face away from hers. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

I knew from experience that sometimes when something makes you upset, you just want everybody to leave you alone. That you just needed space to sort through everything in your head and make yourself understand how you feel in the situation before you can explain it to anyone else.

"It's...I...I just..." She buried her face in my shoulder again and let out a few more sobs. My heart broke into a million tiny little pieces as I felt each tear slide down her face and land on my shirt. I gently swiped at her face, faintly hoping that if I got rid of the ones that were already there then no more would show up.

Her cries died down again and she lifted her head. "I just got a call." She said with such distinct clarity I recoiled a bit. I kept my hand on her back and brought my other hand to hers, squeezing it gently.

She sniffed. "I got a call from my mom, saying that she got news that my best – " She cut off, took a deep breath, and kept going. "That my best friend from high school died in a car accident this morning." She clutched tighter onto my shirt. "I hadn't talked to her recently, but we had sent letters and had hour long phone conversations with each other, even after we graduated high school."

I gripped her shaking hand tightly. I knew what it was like to lose a friend – to lose someone you loved. And if she was taking it as hard as I did...

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and brought her close to me again.

"We were going to get together this weekend. Have coffee. Go shopping." She whispered into my shoulder.

There really was nothing I could say. Was there really anything to say to someone that was grieving? I knew for sure that there wasn't.

"I can't take the pain away, Annie," I whispered into her hair. "But I'm not going to leave your side until your heart can beat by itself again."

The sobs stopped for a moment and her head lifted off of my chest. After one more tiny sniffle, she tackled me and gripped her arms around my neck in a bear hug.

"Thank...thank you." I don't know how long we stayed there, just curled up in each other's arms. Once in a while Annie would have a slight sobbing attack, and I'd clutch her even tighter, nuzzling my face into her shoulder.

We must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, the alarm clock on the nightstand was blaring away reading out _5:30 A.M._ Annie shifted next to me and groaned.

"It's morning already?"

"Afraid so, sweetheart." I kissed her nose softly. "Do you want to shower first?"

"Will...will you shower with me?"

"Absolutely."

Most people would consider showering with your significant other in the morning to be a purely sexual thing, but for Annie and I it was a calming ritual. Of course, there were times when it was...intimate, but this morning was definitely not one of those times.

I stood behind her and kept my arms around her waist as she automatically washed her hair and body. I could tell that she was still broken up inside, but she was better than she was last night.

"You've got to get clean, too, silly. My tears made you all salty." She giggled a bit and ran her soapy hands through my damp hair. I smiled and let her wash my hair and my body while she was at it. Thankfully, I could feel her body physically relax and her breaths came a little eaiser.

She didn't eat much at breakfast, although I was able to coax an entire piece of toast down her throat. As we were packing up she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me close.

"Thank you for being there last night. I just...I kinda lost it."

"It's okay," I whispered, hugging her close. "I understand about losing it."

She was silent for a moment and said, "Of course. Of course you do. By the way, the funeral is this weekend now and I was wondering...if you would..."

"I'll come with you." It'd be awkward for me, I had never even heard of the girl, but I'd be there for Annie.

"Thank you...again." She gave a soft laugh and unwrapped herself, lightly fixing my suit collar.

"I hate it when you cry." In my defense, the words just kind of...fell out of my mouth. Her hands froze and I knew she was probably giving me a puzzled look.

"Why?"

I took a deep breath. "Because I normally can't fix the problem. If you were crying over spilled milk, I could wipe that up. If you were crying because you broke the heel on one of your favorite shoes I could buy you a new pair. But you're strong, Annie. And even the strongest break down and when you do... I can't fix a broken _you_, no matter how hard I want to."

Annie slowly stood on her tiptoes so that her face was right across from mine. I could feel her breath on my cheek and her lips settled right by my ear.

"You _did_ fix me last night, Auggie. Just by being there. Sometimes...most of the time...all I need is you." Kissing my lips softly, she continued. "I wish I could have been there for you."

"But you have, Annie," my words caught in my throat and now it was I who was holding back tears. "You have been there for me and you've done so much more."

We hugged tightly and didn't break apart until my phone started ringing. I reluctantly let go of Annie and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked roughly.

"Aug, man, where are you? We have to get this code done by lunch remember?"

"Oh, yeah, Barber, I'll be right there. Give me fifteen minutes."

"Ok. See you soon."

"Yep." I ended the call and intertwined my fingers with Annie's.

"We should go. I don't want Barber blaming me for you being late," She tugged me through the front door and with excellent skill reached behind her and quickly locked it.

"Ah, he's fine. He just gets his panties in a twist sometimes is all." She laughed, a glorious sound that made me forget about her tears.

"Then you should go untwist them," she joked as we jogged slightly down the stairs.

"That...was not an image I needed."

She laughed again, and I made it my goal to get her to laugh every day.

Because if the sound of her crying broke my heart, her laugh surely mended it.

**Wow, I got real real sappy with this one. I felt sentimental tonight because my best friend called me sobbing that her boyfriend had broken up with her. There really is nothing you can say to someone that goes through grief. Although the guy wasn't that great anyway in my opinion...but don't tell her that. As always, please read, favorite, review, and tell your friends! **


	12. Mingus

**By the way! This all (meaning all the chapters) happens after Henry is GONE. Because I can't STAND HIM. AT ALL. And I just want this story line to bundle up and for Annie and Auggie to be a happy couple and Arthur and Joan to have a cute baby and work again in the CIA and...and yeah. So actually, I guess Joan would have had to have her baby during this time frame. So, a baby may so up early! Just a Campbell baby, not an Anderson baby. They're later. :) **

**She always knows when I'm in a mood, and can always defuse me and make me smile again.**

For anyone, it's difficult to smile everyday and all the time. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Everyone has a bad day now and then, where they want nothing more than to go home and curl up in bed while their brain wipes the day away from their memory.

Unfortunately for me, those days occur more often than what's probably normal.

My fingers tapped an unfamiliar tune on my desk as I waited impatiently for a program to download. Rules were that we had to update our security every two weeks, and of course the incredible time consuming project had to land on today. Production was slow, everyone was snippy and the worst part?

I hadn't even been with Annie today.

She had been sent on a mission only two days ago and I was missing her terribly. The bed now felt foreign without her warm body on the other side and even Fred and his car service seemed like a stranger with how little I've been around him.

"Hey, Auggie? You , uh, you wanna go out to lunch?" Stu called tentatively from the tech office.

"Eh, maybe tomorrow, Stu." I answered.

"Alright - oh, hey Barber."

"Hey, man." I heard Stu exit and Barber took his place, walking over to my side of the desk and sliding something in front of me. "There's the code sets you wanted. I did them on my personal since we're kinda backed up with these security checkups."

Finally, some good news. I slid my hand across the desk and found the flash drive. "Thanks, Barber." I responded truthfully.

"Hey," He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "She'll be home soon."

"Yeah, I know," I patted his hand before he walked out the door to join Stu. I spun around to my bag where I had packed a sandwich and an apple. Truth was, I never wanted to leave the office during work hours when she was out. If I left, then I had to put someone else in charge of her for a period of time and I wasn't okay with that.

Lucky her, she was all the way in Paris, France, working an asset. She had called me yesterday during check-in and said that she would have to go off grid till about the same time tomorrow. Apparently, the asset had a terrorist ex-boyfriend that was good with hacking cell phones.

I groaned and buried my head in my arms. Ever since she went underground during the whole Henry escapade, I got sick to my stomach when I couldn't be in complete contact with her.

And it definitely wasn't helping my mood.

I spun around in my chair a couple more times, trying to take my mind off everything. So when my phone started buzzing, I almost fell out of the chair after trying to get to it so fast.

"Annie?"

Her laugh glided over the line. "Yeah, Aug, it's me. Guess what? The asset has been successfully turned and I was kinda hoping that you get me a ticket out of here early?"

I was already typing in the information on my other computer that wasn't being updated. "You bet I can. Isn't Paris to your liking?"

"Oh Paris is beautiful. But I really want to come home and see my favorite people."

"Meaning me, right?"

"Of course," she giggled. "Hey, are you okay?"

My fingers stopped for a second. "What do you mean?"

"You seem a little...on edge."

"It's just work – security checkups and all."

"Oh, right. But don't worry, I'll be home in a couple hours and then we can snuggle into bed together."

"Sounds perfect," I responded. I was about to say something else, but suddenly my computer dinged with an error message. "Annie, it says that you already requested a ticket out of Paris...and that plane left really early this morning."

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that. I guess I just couldn't wait to get home to a certain someone." My body froze as her voice no longer came through my earpiece. I took it from my ear and turned around to smell the slight tinge of grapefruit.

"_Annie_." As I stood she stepped forward and wrapped herself around me.

"Yeah, it's me." I heard her close her phone to end the call. "Joan got me out once the asset gave her all the information we needed. And she said that _you_ were being particularly difficult." She backed away and I could just imagine her with her hands on her hips sending me a disapproving stare.

"I was not being difficult just...not as happy."

"I could tell. I could see you from across the DPD and you looked like a deflated balloon until I called you."

"I guess I've been a little grumpy," I pouted at her as she chuckled.

"Well, I can fix that." She pressed a large paper bag into my hands. I turned it around in my fingers a couple times, trying to decide what it was.

"What is this?"

"Really? I thought you were better than this, Anderson."

I ran my fingers over it a little more and discovered that the thing inside was circular.

"Wait. Is this a record?"

"Open it up and see for yourself," I could hear the grin in her voice. I gently slid the circular object out of the bag. Annie grabbed my hand and placed my finger on a bump. Sliding my nimble fingers across the surface I read _The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus._

"How – how did you find this one? I've been looking for it everywhere!" I couldn't help the smile that passed across my face. Annie traced my lips with the tip of her finger.

"There it is."

"There what is?"

"That smile. I've missed it. And to answer your question I found it in Paris from an old record shop. They had one left." I placed the record and the bag on my desk and engulfed her in a hug. She laughed into my chest. "I take it you like it then?"

"Of course I do," I pulled away a little, just to placed my chin on the top of her head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, do you want to go get something different to eat? That sandwich doesn't look to appetizing."

"To tell the truth I'm not sure what I put on it. I think I grabbed the peanut butter jar..."

"We better not chance that," she said hastily. "Let's go out."

It took me only five seconds to grab my coat, cane and Annie's arm. "Let's do it."

We chatted as we walked through the DPD and to the elevators. I realized that I would probably always have more bad days than people normally would. But they didn't last long as long as I had Annie around.

**Aw, the cuteness of Auggie's inner thoughts. XD This one's a little shorter because I couldn't think of a good way to end it. I'm still not very happy with the end but eh, it's an end. And now there's 89 to go! Whoo!**


	13. Hearts

**Thank you all for the views and reviews! You're all so wonderful! Also, I found a bit of a consistency issue in my chapters (WHICH I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T CATCH BEFORE!). In California I said that it somehow leaked to the entire department that Annie and Auggie were together but in Codes, Barber had no idea until he read those emails. UGH. So...let's just say that Barber's kind of oblivious. :-)**

**She sings loudly in the shower and in the car and I never knew that she could sing so well.**

"Auggie? Are you awake?"

I let my dark eyes flutter open at the sound of Annie's voice.

"Yeah, babe." I stretched and playfully laid myself across her body.

"Hey, get back on your side of the bed, mister," she laughed and gently rolled me over.

"I thought we didn't have sides." It was pretty much true. We would start on sides, then by the middle of the night we would find ourselves curled together in a ball in the middle.

"True," she ruffled my hair as she kissed my forehead. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Sounds good." I heard her pad across the floor to the bathroom where she turned on the radio.

It had been about three weeks since she moved in completely. Our little apartment worked well for us, and she had spent way more time here than I had ever spent at Danielle's old house. The plus side for Danielle was that she finally got to sell the house, giving their family a bit of extra cash.

I stretched again and rolled out of bed. I swiftly grabbed the cup of coffee by my bedside and made my way into the kitchen where a package of bacon was calling my name.

The bacon was sizzling in a pan when I heard it.

A soft voice filtered through the apartment, singing along to some song on the radio. I peeked my head around the corner near the bathroom and listened harder. That couldn't be Annie, could it? I shuffled closer until I was right outside the bathroom door. I was careful not to go forward too far, as it was still open, but I sat right outside the door to listen.

"_When your soul finds the soul it was waiting for. When someone walks into your heart through an open door. When your hand finds the hand it was meant to hold, don't let go."_

I didn't focus on the voice coming through the speaker, I made sure to listen only to Annie. She had the same soulful tone as the actual singer, but hers was more...I don't know...sweet.

"_Someone comes into your world, suddenly your world has changed forever!"_

Her soft voice suddenly got louder and louder and then I no trouble hearing her. I listened to her sing a couple more lines and I couldn't help the smile that came across my face. The song was fitting, as it pretty much summed up my feelings in a nutshell. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to just get lost in her voice as she continued.

However, I probably should have noticed when she switched off the radio and stepped out of the shower.

"Auggie? What are you doing?"

I jumped up quickly and almost ran right into her. I found her shoulders and steadied myself and I felt the color spread across my cheeks.

"Um, well, I was just – "

"Were you listening to me?" Suddenly her voice got quiet. "Oh my God, you heard me, didn't you? Oh, you weren't supposed to hear that! I'm an awful singer, I just - "

I placed my finger on her lips to get her to stop talking.

"Annie. You are not an awful singer. From what I heard, you have a beautiful voice. Why haven't you told me you like to sing?"

She was silent for a moment then she took a deep sigh. "I don't tell many people. Actually, I think the only one that knows is Danielle. Well, _was_ Danielle. It's not something most people see me doing."

"Doesn't mean you can't do it." I wrapped my arms around her. "I liked the song choice, by the way."

"It's one of my favorites and it just happened to be playing," Her voice got a bit sullen and I could tell she was embarrassed.

"Would you sing for me again?" I asked. She pulled back a bit and I could just feel her piercing gaze.

"What?"

"Would you sing for me again? I like your voice," I smiled.

"Um...well, maybe later. We have to get dressed and eat – is there something burning?"

"Oh, shit!"

I quickly let go of Annie and ran to the kitchen where the smell of burnt bacon finally reached my nose. I heard her rush past me and grab the pan off the stove before a fire started and I waved the smoke away from the smoke alarms as Annie opened a couple windows.

"You just left the bacon there?" She asked, laughing.

"I got...distracted." She laughed again and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Come on, shower stalker, let's get ready."

"Shower stalker?"

"You sat outside the door as I was taking a shower," she explained as she went up the small flight of stairs. "Shower stalker."

I shook my head and followed her lead.

Fifteen minutes later, we were quickly gulfing some granola bars down as we tripped and skidded to Annie's car in the parking lot.

"We're going to be late," she muttered.

"Isn't us being late sort of turning into an everyday thing?" I responded as I slid into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, and you know how much crap Joan is going to give us?" She started the car and expertly maneuvered it onto the street of heavy traffic.

"A lot. But it's Monday, she should give us a little break."

"But she won't."

"Yeah."

The car was silent for most of the way there, except for the radio playing softly in the background. We were about halfway there when the same song that Annie had been singing came on.

"Hey, there you go. Now you could sing again," I grinned at her and I could feel her body tense.

"I don't know..."

"Please? I won't ask you to do it again, I promise." I pouted at her and gently grabbed her hand that was on the gear shift. The gears in her head almost made an audible sound as she decided what to do.

"Fine." She waited until the spot came where she had stopped before. "_When you're one, with the one, you were meant to find. Everything falls in place, all the stars align."_

I closed my eyes again and listened. She got more confident as she kept going and by the time we reached Langley and parked the car, she was even bouncing a little bit in time with the music. She didn't get all the way through the song, but she was still bouncing as she shut off the car.

"Happy now?" She asked.

"Very." We walked hand in hand into work and I, as I did every day, reluctantly left her at her desk.

"Have a good day," I whispered into her ear.

"You, too." She gently kissed me on the cheek and went off to grab some files from Joan. As my computer booted up, I couldn't help but think of the song she was singing. She said it was one of her favorites and it quickly was turning into one of mine. The chorus kept repeating in my head as I worked and I finally couldn't take it anymore. I Googled the lyrics and found the song online after a couple misses.

An hour later, I had the entire thing memorized. I cursed myself for wasting so much time and tried to push the tune out of my head as I worked on a code. But after messing up four or five times, I threw my headphones on the table and rubbed my temples.

"Barber!" I heard him scurry into my office.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to take this code for a while. I have to go do something." I ejected the flash drive and tossed it over to him. The absence of a clink on the floor means he must have caught it.

"Um, okay? But where are you going?"

I flipped open my public cane and grabbed my coat.

"I'll be back soon. And if Joan asks, tell her I took an early lunch."

"Without Annie?"

"Touché' Barber," I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed. "But yes."

I left him there and called Fred to bring the car around. He was surprised at first but I could hear him starting the engine in the background. I climbed in the back when we showed up at the front door.

"It's good to see you again, sir."

"It's good to see you, too, Fred. And it's Auggie remember? Not sir."

"Of course, Auggie. Now, where to?"

"The mall please, Fred. I have to pick up a couple things before the end of the day."

**Joan's POV – At the DPD, about an hour later**

"Auggie?" I slid the door open to my tech agent's office, to find his chair empty. Curious, I made my way to the tech offices and called Eric over.

"Do you know where Auggie went?"

"Um, he wanted me to tell you that he took an early lunch."

"An early lunch? I gave him that code to finish...and he went without Annie?"

"I don't know either, boss." He shrugged his shoulders. "He gave me the code to finish."

I nodded and strode back to the main floor. I noticed Annie coming in the clear doors with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Annie." She looked up and grimaced. I suppose she thought I was going to scold her for being late...again.

"Yes, Joan?"

"Do you know why Auggie took an early lunch?"

"He took an early lunch? I just talked to him in the hallway and he said he was coming with me this afternoon." She gave me a confused look as we walked together toward her desk.

"That's not what he told Barber. He – oh." We had reached Annie's desk. Sitting by her computer was a large bouquet of roses with a piece of cardstock folded next to it. Annie picked it up and read the note on the cardstock as I stood silently next to her. Suddenly, a large smile appeared on her face and her eyes got a bit misty.

"Annie? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just – " She looked up and I followed her gaze. She was looking at her boyfriend who was now back in his office, typing away on his keyboard. "I'll be right back."

As she ran up to him, I picked up the note and read what had made Annie so emotional.

_No there's no one else's eyes, that could see into me. No one else's arms can lift me up so high. Your love lifts me out of time, and you know me heart by heart. _

_ I found your soul, you found the door, I found your hand, and trust me – I'm not letting go._

_ I love you._

And as she hugged him tightly against her, I decided to throw away the massive pile of paperwork I had planned to punish the two with. Instead I placed the note down again and smiled.

I guess it's never too late for heart to hearts.

**I. SERIOUSLY. BAWLED. WHILE. WRITING. THIS. It was supposed to be happy and funny and then it turned into a seriously sappy lovey one but I can't change it! I can't! And then ending...MAH. I had too, it fit so well! Now that my tear ducts have stopped producing tears, I can say I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! And how about last night's premiere!? Mah mamama mahha. I can't even talk about it, it was so wonderful! All I want though is for Annie and Auggie to finally get some peace. They deserve it. And they're going to stay together...because the writers know that if they break them apart, they are going to get some very angry letters and people with pitchforks at their doors. I'll lead the way.**

** As always, read, review, and enjoy!**


	14. Sunsets

**Thank you for all the kind reviews! I couldn't do this without your support! **

**She describes the sun set to me vividly, and it feels like I'd seen it better than I ever had before.**

It was rare to find a night as perfect as this.

The air was warm, the apartment was quiet, and all I could feel was Annie's slow breaths on my chest. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past hour now, and I was pretty sure Annie was already fast asleep. She had asked me to sit on the couch and watch the sunset with her so that's how I found myself sandwiched between the cushions and her body. I was almost completely asleep when her voice reached my ears.

"What do you remember about the sunsets Auggie?" I opened my eyes and noticed she had shifted a bit so that she was probably looking at me.

"The sunsets? What about them?"

"Well, what do you remember? Do you remember the colors?"

"A little. Colors just kind of mush together in my head now."

If it were anyone else asking these questions, I'd probably be irritated. I didn't like to think about the time before my accident if it involved what I could see. But Annie was different, as she always was.

"This one's beautiful, it's got purple and reds that swirl together at the bottom and a large area of yellow around the sun. But the sun is red tonight, yet it's got some blue around it, too."

"Really..." I snuggled into her shoulder again and listened to her ramble.

"Yeah, and the sun is about halfway down now, maybe a little less. It actually looks like the sun is exploding with color."

To tell the truth, I had seen many sunsets before. Before my accident, I'd go out with my squad and watch them, since we never usually got time off during the day. We'd comment on how beautiful it was, with all the colors and how the light changed the appearance. I could feel the vibration of Annie's voice now instead of just her breathing. I smirked as she kept talking and I wondered if she knew I wasn't completely paying attention.

"Auggie?"

"Hmm?"

"You didn't answer my question, you were off in your own little world." She turned all the way around now and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'm sorry. What did you ask?"

"I just asked if you wanted some ice cream before bed. But what's wrong?" I could feel her concerned gaze on my face and I smiled and stroked her cheek to keep her from freaking out any further.

"I'm fine, just...thinking is all."

She was silent for a moment until I felt her take a quick breath.

"About before your accident..."

"Yeah."

"Oh, Auggie, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – "

"No, no," I cut her off and ran my fingers through her hair. "I like talking about that time with you. It's...eaiser."

"I just get curious..." She seemed ashamed and she hid her head in my chest.

I chuckled. "Understandable."

"Would you...are you...do you _want_ to talk about it?" She lifted her head, a bit of her courage returning.

"Sure. Although I'm not quite sure where to start...there's a lot of things." She stroked the back of my head and placed her mouth near my ear.

"Why don't you start with the sunsets?" I gave a little half smile and slid my arms around her waist again.

"Of course they were beautiful, they always are. I'd go out with my buddies sometimes, and just watch them until it was completely dark. That was the only peace we really ever got over there," I tried to remember what one looked like, and I got a few images. One specifically that we had seen about a week before the explosion. I remembered the colors that swirled together and how the sun just looked like a big black ball as it descended.

"Do you miss it sometimes? Being over there with your army buddies?"

"I miss my friends. I don't necessarily miss the work, if you know what I mean," I gestured to my eyes and felt her squeeze my neck gently.

"Do you ever contact them?"

"I haven't tried, no. Most of them died, a few may be back though."

We were quiet for a while, just enjoying being in each other's arms. Suddenly though, I felt Annie shake a bit and a small sniffle escaped her throat.

"Annie? Are you alright?" I lifted my head and tried to find her face.

"I'm...I'm fine, I just...I wish I could take away everything else you went through and just leave the sunsets."

She buried her face into my chest and cried as she bundled my shirt into her hands.

"Shh, Annie, it's alright. I'm okay."

"I know, I just...I keep thinking. You, you could have _died,_" Another sob erupted from her throat but she quickly tried to quiet it. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you think about that all the time and you don't want someone else reminding you about it."

She moved to stand up but I grabbed her wrist.

"Annie, it's okay," I stood up with her and held her so she couldn't get away. She fought me a little bit, but soon she was still. I steadied her and laid my chin on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, I licked my lips nervously and squeezed her hands. I hadn't talked about this part of my accident with anyone before but I guess it was no surprise that Annie would be the first to hear it.

"Annie, of course I've thought about it. I used to think about it every day, right after it happened. At first, I wish I _had _died, because I thought even that was better than not being able to see anymore. Then, as those weeks of mandatory therapy started kicking in, I realized that I was extremely lucky. Even though I knew I had to sit behind a desk the rest of my life and deal with all the reproductions of practically learning how to walk again and deciphering a new language," I spun her around so she was facing me and I laid my forehead against hers. She was silent, listening intently.

"It was hard. It was frustrating. I got angry a lot and no one really came near me for the first couple of months. But you know what? If all of that wouldn't have happened, I would never be here right now. I would never have the brilliant job I have or an incredible work team. I would never have met half of my best friends, I..."

I wrapped my arms around her tightly, nuzzling my face against hers. I could feel the quiet tears streaming down her face, which were probably mixing with my own.

"I would have never met you. And I don't think my heart could take not meeting its other half."

We stood there for a couple minutes, just holding each other until I heard Annie shake a little bit more. This time, however, she wasn't sobbing...she was laughing.

"That...that was the most cheesiest pickup line I've ever heard," She giggled again and I couldn't help but laugh with her. Her giggle was contagious and her hands that were now on my chest were warm.

"You should know by now that I'm the king of cheesy pickup lines."

"Yes, yes you are." She sniffed again and hugged me tight. "I'm so glad I met you, too. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have you. Probably dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Ugh," I shook my head against hers. "I don't like thinking about you being dead. So I guess we're pretty lucky we both found each other, huh?"

"Incredibly lucky." Before I could say another word her lips were on mine in a breathtaking kiss. My arms automatically found their way to her lower back as she stood up on her tiptoes to just try to reach my height. It seemed like hours before we broke apart.

"Very. Very. Lucky." I whispered, pecking her lips before each word.

"Should we finish watching the sunset?" She asked breathlessly as my mouth found her neck.

"Hmm, I think we should go make our own."

"Again with the pickup lines."

"I am the king."

"Sure you are," I picked her up then, carrying her to our bedroom. And as the sun set over the horizon I could only think about how I used to be a sunset, falling and falling until I wouldn't be seen anymore. And I was pretty far down, but then I met Annie.

And she was my sunrise.

**Let me be the first to say, right now, that I am the queen of cheesy ending paragraphs and lines. I seriously could not find another way to end this one. XD I'm reading down my list and noticed I put like a gazillion happy ones right in a row and I'm kinda itching to write a less happy one, but that's not for a while. So we get cheesiness and lovey doveyness until then! But that's fun, too, right? As always, read and review and enjoy!**


	15. Shirts

** I totally agree with all of you commenting. I love this season, but jeez can't they ever get a break? I just want Annie to come back and Jessica to leave...although Jessica is pretty badass. **

** By the way, English question for you guys. I recently had someone, who I don't particularly enjoy but they are a gifted writer for being a junior in high school, tell me that I was writing my first person wrong. Apparently, instead of "I gestured to the bed..." it's supposed to be something like "I gesture to the bed..." I've always written it like the first one, but I was corrected and I'm just wondering what you guys think! I'm not going to change my style unless someone who has a Masters in Creative Writing tells me I'm wrong, but I just would like some opinions. Thanks! And as always, read, review, and enjoy!**

** When she's feeling playful, she'll steal the shirt I had laid out before I got in the shower. And she won't tell me where she hid it.**

** WARNING – This one turned into M. I couldn't help myself...it is a little less loving and more...well, you know what I mean.**

"Hey, Annie!"

"Yeah?" She asked as she padded into our bedroom. I turned to her and sent her a dubious look.

"Where did you put it?"

"Where did I put what?"

"My shirt," I gestured to the bed where my pants and other articles of clothing were currently laying. "I laid it out before I got in the shower."

I started walking toward her slowly and it didn't sound like she was backing away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, honey," she allowed me to stand right next to her so I could feel her breath against my chest.

"Annie, I'm a trained spy," I gripped the towel around my waist and leaned my hand against the wall behind her so I had her pinned. "I can tell when you're lying."

"I am also a trained spy," she took a step forward and glided her fingers across my stomach. "I can lie pretty well."

"So you admit you took my shirt."

"No."

"Annie..." I nudged her in the shoulder and only noticed then that she hadn't gotten dressed either. "Were you just making breakfast while wearing nothing?"

"I am wearing something."

"Like what?" I dragged my hand slowly down her side until it reached her waist.

"I'm wearing my birthday suit." She giggled and ran farther into the bedroom. I chuckled and leaned against the wall as I heard her rummaging around in the closet.

"Are you getting me my shirt?"

"Nope."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Just grabbing my shoes," I heard the bed creak as she sat down.

"You're putting your shoes on first? I know you love them Annie but I think there's usually an order to getting dressed."

"Not necessarily," It took her trained hands less than fifteen seconds to get both of her heels on. She stood again and after years of practice it didn't take me more than a millisecond to recognize her kitten heels.

"I thought you wanted to leave early so that we could spend time at the hotel before the practice," I told her as she walked past me to the bathroom again. Her cousin was getting married and although Annie insists that they haven't spoken for years, there was still an invitation in the mail and a personal letter to Annie asking her to be a bridesmaid.

"We will, but this is _way_ early. We'll have plenty of time," I heard her brush through her hair and turn on the faucet. "By the way, there's toast and fruit in the kitchen if you're hungry."

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. She got in these moods sometimes when she just liked to play around. It had been a while since her last episode though, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

"You know what else?" Her voice interrupted my internal thoughts.

"What?"

I heard her walk toward me and suddenly she snatched the towel out of my loosened hand.

"Hey!" I didn't bother trying to cover anything up, she'd seen it all, but to say the motion was unexpected would be an understatement.

"There, much better. I should have taken your pants, too." I heard her throw the towel somewhere and she continued to wash her face. I gawked at her for a couple more seconds but then smirked. If she wanted to be like this...then who was I to stop her?

"Alright, I guess I'll just look for it myself then." I walked away slowly, pretending to search around the room.

"You'll never find it!" She sang from the bathroom. I knew she couldn't see me from where she was standing so I quickly made my way to her side of the bed where her own clothes were laid out. I gathered them all up in my arms and tip toed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Opening the freezer I tucked them inside. She wouldn't think to look in the freezer, right?

I grabbed a piece of toast from the table and wandered back up the stairs, carelessly running my hand around the floor and such as I continued my pretend search.

"I'm telling you, Auggie, you're not going to – hey! Where did you put my clothes?" I wasn't in the bedroom yet, but I could definitely imagine her turning in circles and looking around the room.

"You'll never know," I entered, munching away on the piece of toast.

"That's not fair..." She muttered.

"Neither is hiding my shirt," I smirked at her.

"I just took your shirt. You took my entire outfit!"

"False. You still have your heels," I pointed downward. She gave a little puff of exasperation. I chuckled as I finished off my breakfast. "Now, may we have a truce so that we may get dressed and get going?"

She was quiet for a couple moments, contemplating my proposition.

"No." She said quietly.

"No?" That...was not what I was expecting.

"You want your shirt...you're going to have to get me to tell you," she walked up to me slowly and poked my chest.

"Then you're going to have to get me to tell you where _your_ clothes are," I shot back. What she didn't realize was that I was pretty decent at keeping secrets, being a spy and all, and there wasn't much that could get my mouth to gab away.

"I can do that," Her warm fingertips suddenly moved up my neck and into my hair as her tongue gently did figure eights on my collarbone.

Okay, maybe that might get me gabbing.

She pushed me against the wall, slowly bringing her knee up so it rested on my inner thigh. I felt all the blood rush downward and I groaned. The fact that she could get me excited so quickly was sometimes intolerable.

"Ready to talk?" She whispered slowly.

"Not – not a chance." I responded.

"Fine, then." Slowly, she slid her hands around my waist and up my back while breathing on my stomach.

"Now?" She whispered.

"No-nope." I was determined to win this fight, although my will was quickly detoriating.

"We'll see about that," suddenly she grabbed the back of my neck and brought it down to her, kissing me forcefully. I faintly realized how much taller her heels actually made her. Without detaching her mouth from mine, she pulled me toward the bed before letting herself fall backwards onto it. I heard a soft thump as the rest of my clothes hit the ground after being pushed by Annie. Although she didn't let go of me, she did put me in a better position.

I wiggled my arms away and grabbed her wrists, gently holding them above her head. Her legs automatically wrapped around my waist, and her heels against my bare skin left me with a feeling I had never felt before. I moaned and brought my mouth down to her neck.

"Hey, no fair," she muttered.

"I'm not the one that tipped us over." I teased, nuzzling her collarbone with my nose.

"No, you're not." I could tell she was losing as much control as I was as her voice got breathier. Without warning, she pulled her arms down and I would have fell on top of her if she didn't immediately roll us over so she was on top of me.

"Now how is that possibly fair?" I asked.

"I'm not the one that wasn't paying attention," she whispered seductively in my ear. "And I think I have to get you back for pinning my hands above my head."

What? She straddled me and pressed her thighs against my torso to keep me in place. Reaching above my head, she dug into the pillows and then leaned back. I was so aroused my this point that I just let her do what she wanted. She ran her fingertips along my upper arms that were lazily thrown above my head. My hips bucked a little at her touch and I bent my legs to get even closer to her. Suddenly, she grabbed my left wrist and wrapped something around it, then wrapped my other wrist to it.

"What are you -" she cut me off with a kiss and pulled my arms up, toward the headrest. She fiddled with something up there for a moment, then pulled back, running her tongue along my bottom lip.

"That's better," she said for the second time that night. I bent my hand to feel the material and was hit with the sudden realization of what she had done.

"Did you seriously just tie me to the bed with my shirt? You hid it in the pillows?"

"Where else would I hide it?" Her lips were by my ear now, huskily whispering the words. Her hands worked magic on my chest, grazing over my sides and pinching my nipples when she got there. My arms flexed, and I desperately wanted to break free and tackle her.

"Ugh, Annie,"She rubbed against me gently, chuckling as she felt me respond.

"Are you ready to tell me where my clothes are?"

"Never." I sounded more confident than I felt. She slid slowly down my body, caressing the spots she knew drove me mad. She stopped at my waist, nipping my hip bones. My toes curled as my knees squeezed against her stomach.

"Ah," She groaned, and I smirked. I was reminded that she wasn't indestructible either. She crawled back up and I lifted my head to capture her lips.

"You'll never find them," I reminded her again as I traced her lips with my tongue. Her breathing became heavier as her hands started groping again. This kept going for a while till I thought I was going to combust from unattended needs.

"Annie, please,"She was wearing down, too, and to my surprise she actually responded. Positioning herself above me, she lowered herself down and braced herself on my chest. Using my knees to keep her upright, I rolled against her, tilting my head back as my heartbeat became erratic. It didn't take long for either of us to find our release and she collapsed on top of me, pressing her cheek against mine.

As soon as our breathing got under control, she reached up and untied my from my makeshift prison. I rubbed her back and she mewled with appreciation.

"You always do give great massages" her voice was muddled against my neck. I merely nodded, not trusting my voice. Annie lifted her head slightly, mostly likely glancing at the clock. "Now we might want to get moving."

"Freezer."

"What?"

"I, uh, I put your clothes in the freezer." I rubbed my nose, slightly embarassed by my chosen hiding spot. Annie just burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Are you serious? That's awesome," She sat up and slid off of me, throwing my shirt on my face. "You may want to re iron that."

"I could just not wear it. Do you think your cousin would be all right with that?"

"Better not try it," she laughed as she walked toward the stairs.

"Hey, no one disagrees with seeing a shirtless me," I quietly got up from the bed, hoping that she was still facing away from me.

"That may be true, but I don't necessarily want other girls staring at your sculpted abs."

"Sculpted abs? What a compliment."

"Don't get used to them," She sounded about a foot in front of me, so I took one large step and ingulfed her in my arms, lifting her and twirling her around.

"Auggie!" She giggled.

"We could stay just...a little bit longer, couldn't we?" I decided I liked her playful moods as her arms found their way around my neck and her mouth found my earlobe.

"Oh how the tables have turned."

**I hope you liked it! But seriously, that first person thing is driving me insane, now I second guess myself whenever I write something. P.S. Sorry for taking so long, life as a high school senior is absolutely nuts.**


	16. Noises

**Thank you all for your reviews! It helps me to know that accomplished writers like yourselves are agreeing with me. :) Also, I'm on serious cute overload right now. Between writing these and watching Oliver and Felicity on Arrow (if you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend you watch it...it's FANTASTIC!) by brain is just full of cute scenarios. I guess it's a good thing that it's a while before a sadder one on this list, huh? And because I'm on this role, you guys get another chapter. By the way, sorry about all the formatting problems. I got a new keyboard for my tablet and I'm trying everything out here so that I can be portable! So, some formatting stuff may be a little...off as I try to figure out how to use this keyboard efficiently**! **Thanks**!

**She'll play those little games on her phone and makes adorable noises.**

"Ohh, no, no, darnit!" Annie groaned next to me and I heard something clatter to the table. We were seated at the island in the kitchen, enjoying a long lunch graced to us by Joan. We had lapsed into a comfortable silence, but apparently Annie got bored because she pulled out her phone and started playing games.

"Did you lose?" I smirked behind my sandwich.

"Only by a little!" she whined. She always got competitive, even if it was with herself.

"What poor game is getting your wrath today?" I felt her steal a chip off my plate and pop it in her mouth.

"Candy Crush." She muttered around bits of chewed chip.

"What's that?" I raised my eyebrow at her and retaliated at her chip theft by swiftly taking a drink of her beer.

"You try to match the same kinds of candy to complete different goals. It's usually like you have to clear out all these jelly stuff or bring some ingredients to the bottom of the screen. Occasionally there's a time trial one, where you just try to get as many points as you can." She didn't pick up her phone again and she gently slapped my hand when I tried to wiggle it onto her plate to pick up the rest of her forgotten sandwich.

"You're not even eating it!"

"I was getting to it," I heard her take it in her hands and she took a loud bite, just to prove her point.

"Right..." I took another mouthful of my turkey sandwich.

"I just need to finish this one level, and then I'm out of the Lemonade Lake!" She groaned again and plopped her sandwich back down.

"Then why don't you keep playing it?"

"You get five lives. Once you use the up, the game takes time to refill them. I usually just wait till it refills them all."

"Ah, it's got it's own built in player control."

"Yep, and it's the most annoying thing in the world!" She scooped her phone back up and I heard her hit the screen a couple times. "Nope, still no lives filled."

"So...it's addictive?" I reached for her sandwich again, as I had finished mine, and this time she let me take it.

"Very. What are you, a black hole?" She chuckled at me a bit. I bit into her barely eaten sandwich and grinned at her.

"You left a perfectly good morsel of food on an open plate. I took the opportunity to get some extra energy."  
She laughed again and pushed my shoulder playfully. We talked for a little while longer about random stuff until her phone vibrated on the table.

"Ooh, my lives are filled!" I heard the music that I had heard before and soon she was engrossed in her game again. I shook my head and smiled at her. Doing little things like this was how she relived stress - and I had never noticed how adorable she was when she did.

"Almost, just - oh no, I don't have another orange one...ugh!" She hit her screen angerly a few times then it seemed like she started another game. She'd let out little grunts or moans as she played and I enjoyed my time listening to her instead of the repetitive music playing through her phone's speakers. I felt her lean against me a little bit sometimes, and I could only imagine her with her phone in front of her face, leaning side to side with whatever motion she was doing. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

Finishing off Annie's sandwich, I gathered our plates and slipped them into the kitchen sink. As I turned on the faucet, I heard a soft thump in the living room.

"Did you just throw your phone?" I chuckled.

"It was annoying me. You know how I throw things when I'm annoyed." I imagined the bits of popcorn hitting the TV and nodded in agreement. I hadn't heard her get up, but her arms snaked around my waist as I scrubbed the first plate.

"Look at you, being all housekeeper like." Her voice vibrated into my back, sending a pleasurable feeling through me.

"Well, someone has to do it. And you never do." She stood straight again and wacked my shoulder.

"I do to! Who did them all last week?"

"You put them in the dishwasher, Annie. That's different."

"Is not," she muttered. I laughed and splashed some bubbles in her direction. "Hey!"

"You deserved it."

"What did I do?" she pouted.

"You ignored me," I turned back toward the sink and smirked as I heard an intake of breath.

"I did not ignore you," she stated.

"Yes you did. I said some things to you and you definitely didn't hear me. You were playing your game." All of which, of course, was untrue. But it was entertaining to hear her stumble over her usually carefully planned words sometimes.

"I - no - that's not...did I?" Her voice got small and I immediately regretted my little trick. Her arms slipped under mine and she hugged me tight. "I'm sorry, Auggie."

I lifted my arms as to not get any more soap on her, but I turned around and gave her as much of a hug as I could with my upper arms.  
"It's okay, Annie. You didn't ignore me completely," I kissed the top of her head. "Besides, it's cute listening to you play those games."

"Cute? How is it cute?"

"You make noises." She froze.

"Oh my God...I don't, do I?"

"Yep, you most certainly do," I turned around again and slipped the cup I was washing into the other part of the sink.

"What kind of noises?"

"Grumbles, moans," I shrugged as I cleared my hands of any remaining suds. "Little whimpers."

"I did not do those..." She seemed mortified. I turned and leaned against the counter, giving a little whimper and pouting.

"Oh, I'm Annie, and I lost again on this little game," I laughed as she gasped.

"I do not sound like that! Oh, Auggie, tell me I don't actually sound like that."

"Sorry, sweetheart, but it's so true!" I walked past her and flipped open my laptop that was sitting in the middle of the island. She didn't respond for a moment, and I assumed she was standing there trying to think of smart remark to respond with. I had gotten through about a third of my unchecked email when she pulled a stool up next to me.

"You know, I'm not all that different from you." I turned my head towards her

.  
"What?"

"I've been watching you when you work. You make little noises, too."

"I do not," I smiled slightly and went back to discarding junk emails.

"Yes. You. Do. When you opened your email you gave a little noise because you had so many emails you had to go through. Then you groaned because you realized they were mostly junk." She poked me in the chest as she spoke. My fingers stopped for a moment as I took in her words. Did I really make random sounds? Before I could respond, her phone buzzed in the living room.

"I think your lives are filled."

"Really? That was quick..." She slid off the chair and picked up her phone. "Oh, no, it's a call from Danielle, hang on. Hello?"  
I could hear some grumbling on the other end, but I couldn't make out any words. I began a response to an email Stu sent me as she slid onto the stool next to me again.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess. Well, they're just kids, Danielle, they don't know any better. Don't worry about it."  
I smiled lovingly at the topic Annie and her sister were discussing. The last time I had seen or even talked to Katia and Chloe was when we went to California to see them and I felt a pang in my heart as I realized how much I missed them.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, Danielle, can I ask you a question?"

I stopped typing, intrigued.

"Remember when I was playing that game on my phone at your house? Did I make random noises when I played it?" I could feel her gaze piercing into my head. Suddenly, she gasped. "What! No I did not! Danielle, you were totally supposed to say no here..."

I laughed loudly, closing my eyes and leaning back on the stool a bit.

"Yeah, that's Auggie. He thinks this is so funny, but he makes noises, too! While he's working!" I could hear Danielle now, laughing just as loud as I was. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Side with him, you always do. Oh, yes you do, don't deny it. You love him more than you love me. You know I'm right."  
I stifled my laughter the best I could as Annie finished her conversation. "Okay, yeah. We'll try. Goodbye, Danielle. And stop laughing!" She hung up then and there was silence. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing, just enjoying your discomfort a bit," I continued my email, hitting send as the last words were read back to me.

"You enjoy making fun of me way too much. I am your girlfriend, you know." A pout crept it's way back into her voice.

"Oh, Annie, you know it's all fun," I caressed her cheek and could feel her frown. I felt bad and held her chin. "I love you, you know that."

I brought my voice down lower so that she would know I wasn't joking around. Her lips against my finger changed from a frown to a smile.  
"Yeah, I know. I love you, too." I stroked her cheek one last time and turned back to my computer, completely intending to finish these emails before we went back to work. Annie leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "And I love everything about you, including your little noises."

Her phone buzzed again. "Oh! Now I have full lives!" The music started again and her noises continued. I laughed quietly and listened while she played. Her little noises were one of the many things I loved about her.  
And there sure were a lot.

**Who knows, maybe this event led to him writing that list? *Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.* As always, read, review, and enjoy! (-I think that's going to be my new slogan now...expect it in every chapter somewhere :) )**


	17. Irritated

** Point of clarification before you read this one - **

** When I wrote prompt 37, about her dreaming about being a bride, in my head I meant that she would be telling him in one of the early chapters so that I could focus that one chapter on the engagement. (Come on, there's no spoilers, you knew it was going to happen). So, to clarify, THIS is the chapter that I decided to put that little tidbit in, this is NOT the proposal. I wish I was writing that right now, but it'd probably end up being ten pages long...it probably still will. **

** Also! If anyone can tell me where the line "Immediately and without hesitation." comes from, you'll get some virtual cookies! :D Good luck!**

** When she gets irritated, I can feel her nose scrunch up and she pouts**.

"I can't believe they said that to me," Annie pulled me quicker down the hallway and almost barreled us into two guys who were seriously wearing too much cologne. I wanted to reach out and slow her down, but I knew it would be to no avail. Annie had been one of the few, and only female, agents nominated for a large mission in Switzerland.

"I mean, yeah, I may not have as much experience as those guys, but to say I didn't have the knowledge to complete the mission?" She was fuming now, and I could feel her arm flex beneath my hand. Joan and I had been sitting in when the agency in Switzerland chose the agent they wanted. We had thought for sure it was going to be Annie, because she had the best track record out of all of them. Actually, I knew that for a fact because I broke protocol and researched all of them but Annie didn't know that...

And yet, they chose one of the other men only because he had worked as an agent longer. Afterwards, Joan went up and spoke with them, saying how she was surprised by their choice as she would have immediately picked Annie. They had the nerve to turn around and addressAnnie herself as they explained that she just didn't have enough skills yet to complete a mission of this caliber.

Did that comment make Joan drop her jaw wide and gape at them? Yes. Did that comment make Annie seriously upset? Yes. Did that comment make me want to drop kick all of them and order an entire re staff of Swizterland's agency? Absolutely.

"Annie, they had no idea what they were talking about. They're just stuck up assholes,"Truly, they probably believed that they had made the right choice with the circumstances they had. But that didn't mean I couldn't _stronglydisagree_ with their choice.

"Assholes who actually could propel or destory my career."We reached her desk and she ploped ungracefully onto her chair. She angrily typed her password into her computer and I heard the small ding as it accepted it. I sat on her desk and let her punch at the keyboard for a while as she exhausted some of the pent up anger she had. After a bit, I reached forward and gently grabbed her chin.

"Annie. Don't worry about them. Joan knows how incredible you are and anyone else that looks at your success rate will agree,"I lifted my thumb to stroke her nose only to find that it was scrunched up like a little button on her face. Her lower lip was out in an unconscious pout and I didn't believe she was actually looking at me. I decided it was best to just distract her now, as nothing else seemed to be getting through. "You have a cute nose."

Her assult on the poor keyboard ceased and her head fully turned toward me. "Where did that come from?"

"From me touching your nose,"I pushed it gently, as it was still scrunched up. "It's like a button. Does that always happen when you get irritated?"

"No." She turned away again, but I could hear that some of the anger in her voice had dissipated.

"Hmm, that's odd. Your lip was also out. Call me crazy but was the great Annie Walker...pouting?"

Now I had her attention. "I was _not _pouting."

"Yes you were."

"Was not."

"Were to."

"Was not."

"Were to."

"I'm not playing this game with you,"I heard her chair swivel back to its original position and the typing started again. However, the angry tone was almost all gone, replaced by a more exasperated emotion.

"Alright, fine, you weren't pouting. But you still have a cute nose."

"And why do you say that? It's just a nose."

I could hear other people now, rustling around us. A few stopped to say hello to Annie and I while others talked quietly behind their small glass walls. It didn't take me long to figure out they were talking about us. Since they didn't get out much, Annie and I were the talk of the office with everybody throwing out projected wedding dates and how many children we were going to have. I began to ignore them, as I had every other day, but I suddenly realized that I could use them to my advantage.

"You have a small nose, which fits in with your face."Heck, even I didn't know what I was saying. But I went along with it as I heard the quiet whispers around us stop for a bit, wondering what the next words were going to be. I slid my arm around her shoulder and to her credit she didn't miss a beat, slowly leaning into me as she contined what I could assume was a report. "Bright eyes, a cute nose, and a beautiful smile."

I nuzzled her gently and her typing paused for a second. "But something's missing. I'm assuming your eyes are still bright," With anger, I thought. "Your nose is always cute...but your smile. I'm missing your smile." I kissed her cheek gently.

"Auggie..."She hissed.

"Aren't you happy? I am, I mean, we're finally going to make this work." I felt Annie's head whip toward me and the whispers around us began again.

"Make what work?"

"Us, we, everything. Isn't it common for married couples to smile at each other?"Annie's strangled gasp couldn't have been more hilarious and suddenly the quiet whispers around us weren't so quiet anymore.

"But - _Auggie,"_she breathed. "We're not getting married!"

I sat up and gave her my kicked puppy look. "We're not? Don't you love me anymore?"

By this point, I knew that she knew I was messing with her. She leaned forward and poked my chest.

"Of course I love you, you idiot. But everyone can hear us and now they think we're getting married!"

"Good! It's about time," I smiled at her. Frankly, if I was being honest with myself, I knew I wanted to marry Annie Walker. A couple years ago, my mother might have slapped me for making such a bold statement, but I knew. Everything clicked, everything fit, and it was like we had known each other forever. Annie was silent for a few moments and her voice came back deadly serious.

"Auggie, if this is your way of asking me to marry you..."

I leaned slightly so that only she could hear me. "Not today, sweetheart," I took a deep breath and braced myself to reveal a secret that I wasn't planning on telling her anytime soon. "But I have thought about it."

"You've thought about ways to...seriously?" I could hear a slight smile in her voice now and it only made the grin on my face get even larger.

"I have. Don't expect any romantic dinners anytime soon...but I _have _thought about it." I was embarrassed now, like I was being caught by my mother doing inapproitate things in my bedroom.

"You really have thought about marrying me? Why?"Her voice was soft and she laid a hand on mine. The office was almost deathly silent as everyone tried to nondiscretely hear our conversation. I shook my head at her question, as if she didn't already know the answer.

"Because I love you."

Her hand automatically squeezed mine. There were a couple beats of silence before she spoke again.

"I've thought about it, too."

"What?"

"I've thought about what it would be like...to be married to you." My eyebrows raised in a smile and I flipped her hand over so I could intertwine our fingers.

"Someday, Walker."

"That someday couldn't come fast enough."

"What do you mean?" Now she was taking me by surprise, instead of it being the other way around.

"When I was little, I used to dream about getting married. The dress, the ceremony, the food afterward..." She trailed and I laughed at little at her priorites. "And of course, the groom. I always pictured what he would look like, and as I grew into my teens I kept trying to find boys that looked like the picture in my head."

I smiled sadly. "I guess I'm not the picture you painted in your head, huh?" I gestured slightly to my sightless eyes, the cane in my pocket and the faded messanger bag that never left my side.

"No...you're better." She cut off any retort I had with a kiss, and a few girls a couple desks away "awwed" at the sight of us. We broke apart and I clasped our intertwined hands with my other one.

"I can picture you being a bride. In a long white dress, walking down the isle with your prince charming."

"With you." She clarified. I chuckled and rubbed my thumb against her warm hand.

"We'll get there. We haven't even been dating for what...seven months now? Who's to say we're not going to hate each other in two months?"

"That's never going to happen. At least on my side," she whispered.

"Good, because it's not happening over here, either."We laughed and suddenly I thought, why not? Why don't I just get down on my knee right now and ask her to marry me? My emotional side pushed me forward, trying to get me to tip over but my logical side grabbed my shoulders and held me tight. Too much was happening and we were both emotionally drained. We needed to be clear minded with absolutely no alcohol in our systems. Hell, she hadn't even met my parents yet. They were furious when I told them I was getting married to Parker and they had never met her.

However, even if my parents didn't like Annie, I'd still marry her anyway.

"So...where are we? Right now?"

"Sitting at your desk." She slapped my lightly.

"I mean with our relationship you doof." She chuckled, but I could hear the nerves coursing through her speech. I reached up and cupped her face, trying to show her I was being as serious as I possibly could.

"For right now, we're just as we always were. Loving each other day in and day out, sleeping in the same bed, calling ourselves a 'thing'," leaning to place my forehead against hers, I could feel her shallow yet uncontrolled breaths. "Then one day, when we're absolutely positive that we can't live without each other, when I can't wait any longer to call you Mrs. Anderson instead of Ms. Walker, when we want to shout it to the world that we freaking _did it, _then you'll find me in front of you with a hopeful look on my face."

Warm tears found my hand and suddenly she was in my arms.

"Thank you,"

"For what?"

"For being the logical one in this relationship. Seriously, I just wanted you to get down on your knee a couple seconds ago."

"Well, it's comforting to know when we're ready, you'll say yes."

"Immediately and without hesitation."

We broke apart and laughed at our absurdness. Did we seriously just talk about waiting to get married and the fact that we _were actually going to get married?_

Yeah. Yeah we did.

"Annie?" We both turned to the sound of a new voice standing behind Annie's desk. I recognized the voice as Joan and quickly scooted away a bit, not wanting to be on the end of a lecture about showing affection in the workplace.

"Um, uh, yes?"

"There's an asset in Norway that has contacted us and is willing to give us information about international black market trade. You up to go fetch some info?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. You leave tomorrow morning," She started to walk away after tossing something onto Annie's desk. "Read though that and I know you'll have your cover memorized. Also," Her voice took a lighter tone and she leaned forward. "Whenever it happens, congratulations."

And she walked away. We didn't say anything for a minute, then Annie turned toward me.

"Were we really that loud?"

I gently pinched her now relaxed nose and smiled.

"Probably, but that's okay. It's not like we were lying about anything." She kissed my forehead and spun back around.

"I await your proposal, Mr. Anderson."

"And I await your acceptance, Ms. Walker."

**Joan's POV**

I watched Auggie meander back up to his office as Annie continued her work. I smiled and booted up my computer, clicking into my staff's personal files. I selected Annie's, and it popped up on the screen. On a space to leave notes about her I typed,

"Plan paperwork for name and address change."

Because those damn security passes took a long time to arrive.

**Well? The plot continues! I hoped you liked it! I'm sitting in a libarary study room right now with nothing but my tablet and little keyboard and I probably look really weird, but I just couldn't wait to write this! Now, I'm going to get eat, becuase I'm hungry. As always, read, review, and enjoy!**


	18. Dishwater

**Thank you all for the kind reviews! This is going so much better than I ever anticipated and hoped and it's all because you!**

**When I'm sick, she'll bring a bowl of her special homemade chicken noodle soup. I never have the heart to tell her it tastes like dishwater.**

"Achoo!"

I let my head fall back on the pillow, my clogged sinuses making my head pound. I rubbed my face with my hands and shivered but still kicked my blanket off because my body felt like it was on fire. It was hard to breathe and my eyes watered constantly, sending salty drops down my face. I scrubbed at them furiously and flinched as my hand scratched against the irritated skin right beneath my nose.

Why? Why now? I had gone about two full years without getting sick once and now, at the time where I have the most work to do, I'm knocked down by an awful head flu. I had even tried to go to work today, but I couldn't make it through. I didn't have bad symptoms when I went in this morning, but when Joan saw me practically sleeping at my computer she immediately sent me home. I didn't even get to tell Annie what was going on before she packed me into a company car.

Curling up on my side, I heard the door open and shut quickly, but I didn't pay any attention. I knew it was Annie. Her heels clicked against the tile and the clicking quickly stopped as she hit the carpet. She was running...or fast walking, one of the two.

The door flung open, and she sat on the bed next to me, her hands finding my face.

"Oh God, Auggie, you really are burning." Her cool hands felt nice against my heated flesh.

"Hmm," I muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick? I wouldn't have let you go in today if I had known," it seemed like she was grumbling to herself now as she shifted the blankets under me and rubbed my shoulders.

"Wasn't as bad this mornin'," I mumbled into the pillow. My headache reared its ugly head and started to sound like an entire drum line in my skull.

"Have you taken anything?" She brought her massage down to my chest and I couldn't help but smile.

"Just some pain relievers. Nothin' else." I didn't even think about taking my migraine medication. I had been off of it for so long and I didn't want to get back on it. Annie could tell my reluctantly and sighed.

"If it gets worse...you should take them."

"I know," I agreed.

"Oh, my poor baby," She hugged me then and I weakly tried to push her away.

"Don't want you gettin' sick."

"I'm no where by your face, Auggie. I'll be alright," she pulled back and rubbed my cheek. "Do you want something to eat?" It may have been the flu and the fact that I definitely wasn't thinking straight, but my heart started to swell and I almost started crying. Almost. My situation had gotten a whole lot better since Annie arrived. I nodded meekly and her fingers melted into my hair, giving me a light head massage. Which worked better than any migraine medication I had ever taken.

"How about I make you some of my special homemade chicken noodle soup?"

I blanched. I loved Annie, I really did. Her cooking...not so much. She made a mean steak and to die for lasgana...but soup? It seemed easy to make chicken noodle soup, but her homemade recipe had to be eaten with certain kinds of taste buds - which I didn't have. But as to not upset her -

"Yeah. That'd be great."

"Okay. I'll be back soon. Try to sleep, okay?" Gently kissing my forehead, she rose off the bed and padded out of the room. I hadn't even noticed that she had kicked her heels off. I sank lower into the bed, trying to get to sleep before Annie came back. But as I tossed and turned, I knew it wasn't going to happen. My hypersensitive hearing, which had taken a hit because of my sickness, picked up the sounds of boiling water and noodles being tipped out of a box.

I sneezed again.

Annie came back up a little while later, and I could already smell the soup. I frowned for a second but sat myself up anyway. My head felt like a tilt-a-wirl and I grabbed it to try and stop the dizziness. Annie's warm hands covered mine and suddenly she was sitting practically in my lap, whispering sweet nothings in my ear. The dizziness stopped almost immediately and I let my head fall against hers.

"Thanks."

"You don't have to sit up. Lay back against the headboard."

"What?"

"Just do it," she pushed gently against my chest and I allowed myself to be manipulated. Honestly, it did feel better on my head and chest, but it'd be pretty difficult for me to eat anything in this position.

"Here," there was a pressure against my lips and I realized it was a spoon full of soup.

"What are you doing?"

"Feeding you. I wasn't going to let a sick person feed themselves."

I gulped, bracing myself for what was about to happen. I opened my mouth a couple centimeters and Annie pushed the spoon in, letting the liquid dribble down my throat. I closed my mouth to keep from gagging. I felt awful about my reaction, but I couldn't help it.

"What's wrong?"

"No-nothing. My throat's just really sore." Which wasn't a lie, but not the full truth either. As I gulped down a few more spoonfuls, I realized I knew what it tasted like. Dishwater, it tasted like dishwater. And the only reason I knew that was because of a humiliating prank that my brothers played on me when we were little. She kept feeding me, and I tried to focus on the fact that she was sitting on my lap rather than the dishwater.

"There, half done. How do you feel now?"

I coughed before I answered. "Good. At least, better than what I was."

"Yeah, you looked pretty pathetic," she giggled a little and leaned against me.

"You're going to get sick, Annie," my voice sounded horrible, scratchy and plugged.

"I'll take the risk."

And that's why I kept allowing her to shovel the dishwater into my system. I loved her too much to hurt her feelings. Finally, the bowl was empty.

"Now, try to get some sleep," she helped me lie back down and covered just my feet with a blanket. Grasping my hand, I heard her set the bowl on the nightstand as I closed my eyes and actually felt them droop a bit. Annie laid next to me and I felt the soft fabric of her blouse. I wrapped an appreciative arm around her and pulled her close. We were silent for a while until Annie turned around to face me.

"Is my soup really that bad?"

Woah.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just admit it, Auggie. You don't like my soup." Her voice held a tint of sadness in it and I quickly hugged her.

"It's not that I don't like it..."

"You really don't like it. It's okay, I understand." Her voice became muffled as she buried her head in the sheets. Confused now, I dropped my head so it was near hers, holding back the urge to cough.

"Annie, why are you really so upset?" She was silent for a couple beats.

"When we were younger, Danielle said I had awful bedside manners. When she was sick, I apparently was awful at helping her out. I've been trying to prove that wrong for years, but I guess she was right."

"Oh, Annie, no," I nuzzled her face with mine. "You have incredible bedside manners. I feel better just by having you here. That's just your sister talking - she's going to make fun of you every chance she gets."

I felt her lift her head. "Really?"

I laughed a bit at her childlike worries. "Really. And even though the soup was bad..." I trailed off, expecting a slap, but it didn't come. "...the fact that it was made by you made it perfect."

"So my sister's been lying to me."

I laughed, although it sounded like a squeaky mouse. "She had an opinion. An opinion that I don't agree with."

She gather me in her arms and I allowed myself to snuggle against her chest. It was comforting to hear her heartbeat send regular thumps through her chest.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too." She kissed my lips softly and rubbed my head again.

"But seriously, is my soup really that awful?"

"Have you even tasted it?"

I heard her reach over to the bowl and try to scrape a little leftover into the spoon. Suddenly, she gagged.

"Oh my God...that's...that's not right." She coughed and spluttered and I couldn't hold my laugher in anymore. We were a couple of squeaky mice and spluttering spies. "Don't...don't ever let me make that again."

She was laughing now along with me.

"Okay, I won't." I reached my arms out, wanting her in them again. She obliged and my eyes fluttered, wanting desperately to close.

"Go to sleep, Auggie. I'll be here when you wake up."

"I know you will. You always are."

"Not always."

"But you are."

She caressed my chest gently and the rhythm lulled me into a near deep sleep. The last thing I heard before drifting in unconsciousness was Annie humming a lullaby in my ear.

And I got the best sleep I had in months.

**This one's a little shorter, just because I seriously could not thinking of anything else to put in it! The soup was the main idea...hehe! Please read, review, and enjoy!**


	19. Sick

**I'm SO SO SO SORRY. Life. That's all I can really chalk it up to.**

**If you haven't seen last Thursday's episode - THERE IS A SPOILER. **

**AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THURSDAY'S EPISODE. I threw a fit and actually tipped over my chair when I stood up angrily. I yelled so much and cursed Auggie for a good couple minutes. The fact that I had had a bad day before that just made it even worse...**

**But then the rest of that episode happened...and I have no idea what to think now. I'm sad that she's - you know - but still, I'm a little happy. And Christopher Gorham is directing this next episode so I'm REALLY HOPING he gives us some awesome (and romantic) Annie/Auggie action because THEY FINALLY INTERACT AGAIN. UGH. Plus, Auggie said that he was still in love with Annie - or Helen did, I can't remember- in the last episode so there is hope! So much hope that he's not as big of an idiot as he was in the last episode! **

**Okay, there's my rant - here we go. **

**When she's sick, she'll snuggle into my chest and is content to lay there for the rest of the day. I make sure I never have to get up.**

It had been a slow day at the office. So slow, in fact, that I was subjected to playing "pick up a random object and figure out what it was." Which, when I first came to terms with being blind, was actually fun but I was too good at it now and it quickly became boring.

Swirling around in my chair, I listened to the conversations around my office. Some guys planning a weekend at a fishing hot spot, some newbies asking how each other days were going, and some girls whispering by the water cooler that sat across about a hallway down from my office. I focused on them.

"I know, how did she ever land him? I mean, he's perfect and she spends her time practically getting herself blown up every day."

"And she's not even that pretty. Everyone says she is...but she's not."

"He could do so much better."

"I bet she's blackmailing him. That's the only way."

"Okay, I don't like her either, but blackmail? Seriously?"

"Just a suggestion."

I leaned forward, intrigued. Who could they possibily be talking about? There seemed to be about three of them. One that had a voice of reason, one that was just following the conversation, and the other was just plain angry.

"It doesn't help that she somehow weaseled her way into being Joan's favorite. I've worked for Joan for years and do I get a pat on the back almost everyday like she does? No!"

"Well, she does go off and do dangerous missions. We're just the desk people."

"Doesn't matter."

"Did you hear they might be getting married? Jennifer heard them talking about it the other day."

Oh.

"No way. No way in hell is that happening. He would never stoop that low."

I bristled, clenching the handles of my chair.

"You don't know that."

"I bet she forced herself. She seems like that kind of person."

"Maybe. But I bet she isn't that good anyway."

"No, I'll put money on that. I could show him a way better time than she ever could."

"Guys."

"She'll probably make a stupid mistake that's going to get her killed anyway."

"Guys..."

"Maybe we could break them apart. It shouldn't be that hard."

"Guys..."

"Yes! We'll show him that I'm way better than Walker ever could be."

"Guys!"

"Wait, why should you be the one that gets to end up with him?"

"You guys!"

"Because I'm the most compatible with him, that's why."

"Oh no..."

"Bullshit."

"Guys!"

"What!"

"Hello ladies."

I heard two intakes of breath, then embarassed laughter.

"Auggie!"

"Hi, Auggie!"

"What brings you over here?"

At least the third one had the decency to sound guilty.

"Oh, you know, just walking around. Slow day."

"Yeah."

"Say, Auggie. What are you doing after work tonight? A bunch of us are going over to this new bar downtown, and I still need a date." I recognized her as the evil one, and she sounded even worse up close.

"Sorry, but I'm busy." I walked through them and filled a paper cup, to justify my reason for even being over there.

"Oh. Well, some other time then?"

"No. All my nights will mostly be spent with my beautiful girlfriend. I'm sure you know her - Annie?"

The angry one stayed silent. The voice of reason didn't though.

"Oh, yeah, I know her."

"By the way, I don't believe I've met any of you." I leaned against the wall, trying my best to look as inviting as possible although my insides were burning with anger.

"My name's Maddie." Ah, the voice of reason. Thankfully my anger wasn't completely flinging itself at her.

"Sandra."

"And I'm Stacy." Great. Why were the crazy ones always called Stacy? Stacy leaned next to me, gently hitting my shoulder. I grimaced. "So, I'm curious. What do you do in that office of yours? You look so lonely. Maybe you want someone to come visit you?"

"Jeez..." Maddie muttered under her breath. I sent her a little internal grin.

"I'm never lonely. Either I'm talking to my team or Annie comes to visit." Stacy stiffened next to me.

"Annie has time in her busy day to come up and see you? I thought she focused on her work and her work only?"

I finished off the small cup of water in my hand and threw it in the trash. "She focuses on her job because she's good at it and she doesn't want to mess up. She does our country proud."

"Yeah, she does," I heard Maddie toss her cup in the trash. "I'll, um, see you guys later? Bye, Auggie."

"Goodbye, Maddie," I answered. Her "friends" I assumed just gave little waves.

"Yeah, I've got some paperwork to file through. So, I better go..." And Sandra was off.

"What about lunch? I haven't seen you eat today yet."

My God, will she ever stop?

"Actually, he has a lunch date. Wit' me." I lifted my head at Annie's voice and Stacy's gasp.

"Oh! Um, Ann - Agent Walker."

"If you'd pleas' excuse us?" I felt Annie grab my hand and she pulled me off the wall and we started back down the hall toward my office.

"Um, yeah, okay. Bye, Auggie! See you next - " I didn't hear what she said after that because Annie pushed me into my office and closed the doors.

"Thanks for the save," I muttered.

"No problem. I know 'em. They hate me," She sniffled and I walked over to her, placing my hands gently on her cheeks.

"Annie. You're burning up. Why the hell are you at work?"

"It wasn't as bad this morning..."

"Do you remember where that thinking landed me?"

"In bed. At home."

"Which is where you're going," I moved to grab her coat which she had thrown in my office this morning as she was running late.

"No, I have work to do!" She protested. She tried to push my arms away as I attempted to place her coat on her, but she was weak.

"Annie, you're sick. And you know where you got it? Me. So, now it's my turn to take care of you."

"I don't need takin' care of." But she kept her coat on and leaned into me as I zipped it up.

"Too bad you don't have a say in it. It's a lovers duty." I gently pushed her out of my office after bundling up myself and sat her in a chair before heading up to Joan's office.

"Go on in, Auggie." Olivia stated in her bright voice.

"Thanks," I grinned at her and knocked on Joan's door.

"Come in." I peeked my head through the door and Joan laughed. "What can I do for you Auggie."

"I need to take Annie home. She's sick."

"How sick?"

"Well, she's not puking - that's a good sign. But she can barely stand on her feet she's so tired and she's definately running a fever."

"Get her home. And stay with her. Knowing her, she'll try to sneak back in here if you leave her alone."

"Thank you, Joan."

I slipped out of her office again and shut the door as Olivia came up to me.

"Is something wrong with Annie?"

"She's sick."

"Oh, that's why she looks like a kicked puppy. She's sinking into the chair while wiping her nose with her scarf."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm getting her home as we speak."

"Good. Make sure she gets some soup, too. That always makes me feel better."

I smiled at her. There was no question about how many people cared about Annie in the department.

"I will." I waved goodbye and went to where I left Annie.

"'Bout time." She muttered.

"Well isn't someone a bit cranky today." I lifted her up and she sagged against me. I whipped out my public cane, just in case.

"My nose is stuff'd, my throat is sore, and I'm dizzy. I have a right to be cranky."

"Yes, yes you do."

I didn't want her driving, so I called Fred to take us home. Again she protested, but on the ride home she allowed me to keep my arms around her as a blanket while she dozed. When Fred pulled the car to a stop, she jolted up.

"Where are we?"

"At home, Walker. It's okay," She relaxed.

"Oh."

Getting her up the stairs was tricky, as she wouldn't lift her feet that high, but finally we were in the apartment and I had her in one of my old T-shirts and laying on the couch.

"What did those girls say?" Her voice reached my ears as I brought a blanket over to her.

"Nothing. Don't worry about them." I weaseled myself underneath her and laid the blanket over us as she snuggled into my chest.

"Liar. I know they said stuff 'bout me."

"They don't matter, Annie. Try to go to sleep."

She was silent for a moment. Then her small voice reached my ears.

"I bet you could find someone better than me. They seemed to think so."

I groaned. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"All of it. When someone's talking about you, you kind of automatically stop to listen." She sounded deflated and hurt so I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed.

"They're just jealous, Annie. I could never find anyone better for me than you."

"How are you so sure?" She sat up then, resting her forearm on my chest. "What about Helen and Parker? You loved them, too."

"Yes. But Helen was a long time ago. Our relationship was based on a cover that somehow ended up being something but after what she did...I never have completely forgiven her. I understand why, but it still hurts. Do I miss her and wish that she was still alive for me to talk to? Yes, I do. And Parker - she decided to leave. And now I'm thinking that all it was was the two of us trying to keep Billy around by being with each other, which wasn't going to work. Do I still care about both of them? Yes. But Annie, I've spent almost four years with you. Fighting bad guys, having beers, and cheirshing your friendship along with your love. For some reason I can't explain, my heart feels full when I'm with you - hell, even when I just think about you. I love you, Annie Walker. How many times to I have to say it for it to get to you?" She sniffed again. I thought her cold was getting worse but then a tear hit my shoulder. "Oh, Annie, don't cry."

"I'm sorry." Her arms wrapped around my neck and I held her tight. "I love you, too."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. All you need to know is that I'm not going anywhere. I've been through so much with you, and I'm still here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then what makes you think I'm going to leave you?"

"Because it always happens! I find someone who's incredible and then they leave me in the dirt. And you - you mean so much to me and you're the best man I've ever met. There's so many other women who have loved you and I'm so scared that I don't match up to them and one day you're goin' to decide you actually love them more than you love me. And I don't think I could go on if you ever left me."

I froze as she sobbed quietly into my shoulder. After a bit, I grabbed her face and pulled her so that our noses touched.

"Annie. Don't you dare think that you aren't half the woman that the others were. To me, you are double what they are and more. You are my everything and that is never going to change. I love everything about you and you have no idea how badly I want to hurt every man who's ever hurt you. I don't know how many times I have to say it to get you to believe me, but I'll keep saying it even after you do believe me. I love you."

Suddenly, her mouth was on mine and she moved so that she was straddling me. I pulled her closer to me and deepened the kiss, thinking faintly in the back of my mind that I might get sick again. But I didn't care.

She broke away too soon, her cold making it difficult for her to breathe.

"I love you, too." She breathed. I smiled as she laid back down against my chest.

"Now, will you please try to get some sleep? You sound awful."

"Oh, shut up, Anderson."

"You shut up."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

Soon she was snoring loudly and I settled in for a long day.

Because there was no way I was going anywhere when I already had the whole world in my arms.

**So long. So sappy. Just what I needed to get my through until this week's episode. So! As always...please read, review, and enjoy!**


	20. Bowser

**20****th**** chapter! What!?**

**She loves puppies. Nuff' said**.

"Aw, Auggie, they're so cute!" I begged to differ as I felt little paws jump up onto my legs. Annie and I were currently visiting an old friend of mine who's wife just happened to breed dogs. Recently, one of their golden retreivers just had a large litter of puppies that they were now trying to sell.

"Yep, they definately are." I liked dogs, don't get me wrong. Puppies though? They're a bit much. Annie was having the time of her life though, rolling around on the ground with all of them.

"Your girl is a dog lover?"Ryan came up behind me and slapped me on the back.

"Yeah, she is." I laughed.

"Why don't you take one with you? Mary's having a hard time getting rid of them."

Before I could respond Annie spoke up.

"Oh, _please_, Auggie? They're so cute and the apartment would totally let us have one!"

I had been told when I moved in that if I ever got a service animal it would be allowed. I refused to get one at the time however because I didn't want to give up what indepence I had left. Now, I really wouldn't care. It'd be more company than a service animal.

"Yeah, there you go. That's a great idea!"Mary walked into the house then, placing the mail she had gone out to get on the table.

"I don't think so..." I tried to laugh it off but then a fuzzy face was next to mine.

"Come on, Auggie, just hold him! He's so cute!" She placed a puppy in my arms and I held him a little ways away as he squirmed.

"Annie, do we really have time for a dog? Our jobs would make taking care of him difficult."

"I know, but we could work it out! Our neightbor is so nice, she'd take care of him while we're gone. And look, he likes you!"

The puppy had somehow made his way to my face and was trying desperately to lick it. I lifted my chin away as his tongue came in contact.

"Yeah, he's certainly taken a liking to you, Aug. Why don't you give it some thought?" Ryan hinted.

"I've got food I could give you guys and some basic supplies, too. They've all been neutered and have gotten their shots so they're good to go." Mary said as I heard her put some more food in the dog bowls.

I struggled to remember when it became an actual idea that Annie and I were going to take home a puppy.

"Annie, let's think this through - "

"Please, Auggie. I'll potty train him myself and I'll get all the toys and everything. All you have to do is love him."

I could imagine her pouty face and I sighed.

"I'll think about it."

I handed the puppy back over to Annie.

"You can keep him out if that's the one you're thinking about. That way you won't lose him in the litter." I heard scratching against the tile as Annie set him down and he ran around with his newfound freedom.

"Now how about some lunch?" Ryan asked.

"Sounds great." I sighed. Ryan laughed as if he knew what was going through my head.

"You know you're going to say yes, man. You can't say no to her." I assumed Annie was helping Mary in the kitchen, so I responded,

"No. No I can't."

Mary was one of the best cooks I'd ever known, so of course lunch was delicious. Converstaion was a bit difficult because of all the barking and the little puppy weaving inbetween our feet.

"How much would he be?" Annie asked.

"For you guys? Only about one hundred, since he's a purebreed."

"Wonderful!" Annie giggled. I groaned internally. She was already attached.

"Just think of it as baby training, Aug."Ryan laughed. I choked a bit on the water I was sipping. Baby training? We had barely talked about marriage - not at all about children.

"They sure act like babies, that's for sure." Mary agreed.

"Yeah,"My voice cracked as I set my water down. Annie giggled at me.

"What, the idea of babies frightens you?"

"Right now? Yes."

They laughed and I felt the puppy come up beside my leg and rub his head against me.

"Come on, Aug, how can you say no to that?"Ryan teased.

"He'd be so sad if you left without him." Mary said with a smile in her voice. I imagined the little puppy staring up at me, which he probably was, and I'll admit that the image I got in my head was pretty adorable. But a puppy in our small apartment that would soon turn into a large golden retriever? Eh...

"Woof!" He snuggled against my leg again while Annie and Mary cooed.

After lunch, Ryan and I talked in their living room while Annie and Mary tended to the puppies. While Ryan stepped into the kitchen to get us a couple of beers,I smiled at the baby voices Annie used for the puppies. And suddenly I could see it all. The wedding ring on her finger and the baby on her lap. I had always believed after my accident that I _shouldn't_ have children because it'd be so difficult for me to take care of them but with Annie I found myself _wanting_ them. A boy, a girl, it wouldn't matter - just as long as they were healthy. My heart started feeling fuzzy as I imagined a small toddler looking up at me and calling me "Daddy."

"Auggie?"

My head snapped up at Annie's voice.

"Yeah?"

"You okay? You looked kinda zoned for a moment,"But the way she kept shifting I assumed she had one of the puppies in her arms.

"Is that the same one?"

"Yep. He won't leave me alone. And frankly I can't leave _him_ alone! He's too cute!"

I laughed as I felt a cold bottle against my hand.

"There you go."

"Thanks."

"So, have you two made a decision yet?" Mary joined us, sitting on the couch next to her husband while Annie took the floor next to the chair I was sitting in.

"I'm a yes. Auggie?"I could feel all eyes go to me and I debated as I heard the little whimpers and barks.

"Let me see him for a second," Annie placed him in my arms and he didn't squirm as much as before. I petted his head and he quickly turned from a puppy to a son or daughter in my head. I lifted him so that I assumed we were eye to eye. "Well, little guy...welcome to the family."

"Yay!" Annie cheered.

"Great! I'll go get the papers and supplies!" Mary jumped up and I could just feel Ryan's smirk.

"What are you guys going to name him?"

"That's all you, Annie."

"Um...Bowser."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Bowser?"

"Yeah. My family had a dog when we were little and I wanted to name him Bowser after the Mario games...but my sister wouldn't let me and we ended up calling him Flower. A boy dog named Flower. It was awful."

"Bowser it is then."I laughed as Bowser licked my face in appreciation. At least, that's what I think it was. "I think he likes it."

"Bowser Anderson. It's got a ring to it." We laughed as Mary handed over the supplies and I fished the money out of my pocket.

"Oh, Auggie, I'll pay - "

"You're doing everything else. I've got the actual dog." She gave me an awkward sideways hug as I handed Mary the money.

"And we're good to go!" She exclaimed.

"We should probably get back, Aug. We've got work in the morning."

"Yeah. And we need some time to show Bowser here around the apartment."

"We'll see you guys later right? I've missed you, man."Ryan clapped me on the shoulder again as Annie struggled to get her coat on while also wrestling to get Bowser in his kennel.

"We'll stop by again. And you know where we are." I gave Ryan a big smile and shook his hand.

"Have fun with your new family, Bowser!" Mary said. Bowser responded with a bark. In the car, I held the kennel on my lap as Annie drove. I let my fingers settle inside the kennel as Bowser licked them occasionally.

"I can't believe we actually got a puppy."

"It's going to be so fun! And Ryan was right, it will be great baby training."Annie replied in excitement.

"You're thinking about babies already, Ms. Walker?"

"I wouldn't mind some with you."I glanced in her general direction at her comment.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She said softly, suddenly realizing the gravity of what she just said.

"I wouldn't either."

Her mood visibily shifted and her hand found mine.

"In due time."

"Definitely." She squeezed my hand as we sped down the road. I smiled as Bowser licked my other hand and my mind wandered to what kind of life Annie and I had down the road.

Not even the thought of me trying to explain why I got a service animal _now_ to my apartment supervisior could bring down my mood.

**You guys get two in one day! Why? Because I'm awful at updating so I'd thought I'd spoil you all. Read, review, and enjoy! :D**

**By the way, it is Bowser right? I don't remember...I haven't played a Mario game in forever...**


	21. Fight

**When we get in a fight that isn't huge, she'll sit right outside the door and pout. A couple "I'm sorry's" and a bag of chocolate later, she's sitting in my arms on the couch, munching away.**

"Annie, please, come back inside."

"No."

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"How do I know what you meant? I'm not you."

I groaned and leaned against the door frame as I sat on the floor. Annie was being difficult again, although this time I knew why.

"You have to trust that I did it for you, Annie. They'd tear you apart over there."

"You don't know that. I've been through worse. I can handle myself, Auggie."

"I know that, but you don't know what I know."

"So what do you know that I don't?"

I rubbed my hands against my face. Annie had been asked to take a dangerous mission in Syria and at first I was all for her going. Then I was informed that one of the agents that would be escorting her in Syria was a part of one of the biggest security agencies in Syria - one that hadn't been very kind to us in the past. They specifically had never been kind to our female agents that we had sent over to help them, and the girls always came back either angry or scarred. Literally.

So what did a clear thinking and concerned boyfriend slash handler do? He hijacked the system so that another agent was sent instead. Somehow, Annie had found out. I blame Barber.

"Annie, they're cruel and awful. I just wanted you to be safe. I know you can take care of yourself. Now please come back inside, people are going to start to wonder."

"No."

Great. Now she's pouting.

"Woof!" Bowser nudged his nose against my leg and played with my sweat pants a little bit.

"Not now Bowser. Mommy and Daddy are fighting."

"We are not fighting."

"What do you call you sitting outside the door while I'm trying to get you back inside?"

"Me being angry at you. Doesn't mean we're fighting."

I racked my brain for ways to make her forgive me. I did feel bad but my conscious told me that it was the right thing to do. Bowser jumped up into my lap and tried to lick my face. Pushing him away, I stood and walked around her to kneel right in front of her.

"Annie, I know you're angry with me. But you have to understand that I care about you."

"I know you care about me."

"Then why is this such a big deal?"

I heard a sharp intake of breath from her and I instantly knew that I said the wrong thing.

"Why is it such a big deal? Why? You went _behind my back_, Auggie. You didn't even discuss it with me first."

I felt a pang in my heart. Okay, maybe I didn't take the best route...

"I know and I'm sorry. I should have. But we both now that you would have fought me on it if I had asked you."

"Yes. And we would have talked it through like adults and not played this little game like children."

"Who's the one pouting?"

"Shut up."

I didn't know what else to say to her. She didn't say anything else to me so I decided to leave her alone for a couple minutes to let her cool off. Before I went completely inside however, I turned toward her again.

"When you want to talk to me again, you know where to find me."

I collapsed on the couch after I walked in, sinking deep into the cushions. Why couldn't she just see that I _couldn't_ let anything happen to her? If anything ever happened to her on my watch, I don't think I could live with myself. That was even before we started dating but now that we were the stakes were even higher. I loved her too much to send her to place that could ultimately scar her for life. I trust her and I completely believe in her, and I know how tough she is. But I could never put her in front of a bullet.

Having her mad at me wasn't that great either, though.

Bowser started weaving his way between my feet, whimpering. He could tell that Annie and I weren't on great terms and he definately didn't like it.

"I'm sorry Bowser, you shouldn't have to see this."

He just whimpered again.

"Well, how do you expect me to make her happy again? It's not like she's willing to exchange any words with me."

"Woof! Woof!" He barked.

"I've tried talking, I've tried saying I'm sorry, what else can I do?"

"Woof!"

"Wait...I have an idea."

"Woof, woof!"

I stood up quickly, almost knocking over poor Bowser in the process. I tiptoed around him and made my way into the kitchen, opening every cabinet until I found what I was looking for. Once I found it, I walked slowly back to the front door where I could still hear Annie's angry breaths. Leaning against the door frame, I angled my head down toward her.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"So...have I said I'm sorry yet?"

"Yes. Multiple times."

"Oh. Well, are you going to come back inside anytime soon?"

"No."

"Too bad. I guess I'm just going to have to eat this bag of unopened chocolates all by myself."

She was silent for a moment. "Nice try."

I sighed and knelt in front of her again.

"Please, Annie. This is my peace offering. I'm sorry for what I did. It was wrong and I shouldn't have done it without talking to you first. You are strong and I trust you to take care of yourself but this was one of those times where I couldn't make myself put you in the line of fire like I do almost every other day. I'm not just your handler - I'm your _boyfriend_. My boyfriend brain is definitely different from my handler brain. Please understand that."

She shifted a bit, and I wondered if she was looking away from me or was actually starting to look at me.

"I _do _understand, Auggie. It's just...we're a couple now and couples make decisions _together_. And I guess I just got upset that a big decision that involved both of us in some way was only made by you. I know it only involved our work and not our relationship as much, but I'm afraid that if it happens at work that it's going to happen at home, too. And I don't want us to have that kind of relationship. I want us to make our life choices together, you know?"

"I know. But we're still new to the decision making process. We'll get the hang of it. I'm excited to make decisions with you. Together."

"I'm excited, too."

I could hear the smile in her voice and I smiled back at her.

"So, what do you say? All is forgiven and we spend our now free weekend eating chocolate on the couch together?"

She laughed finally and grabbed my hand.

"Sure. Sounds perfect."

I pulled her up and pulled her into a hug.

"So I'm forgiven?"

"Yes. I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like fighting with you, either."

She pulled away and snatched the bag out of my hands. "Come on, slowpoke!"

I laughed and ran after her, hearing Bowser bark at our sudden mood change. She turned around and pulled me onto the couch.

"I get the first one."

"You always get the first one."

"Not true, Anderson, not true." She ripped open the bag and I heard the wrapper crinkle as she unwrapped it.

"Yes, it is - ump!" She stuck the chocolate into my mouth and kept her finger in my mouth, giggling while she did.

"I told you. I don't always get the first one." I raised an eyebrow at her and clamped my lips around her finger. "Hey..."

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pushed her down onto the couch and let her finger go. "Not a bad trick, Ms. Walker."

"Well thank you. I'll be here forever."

"Forever?"

"With you? Of course forever."

I smiled and kissed her forcefully, elicting a delicious moan from her. It took a while before we had to break apart for air.

"If this is the apology I get, I might have to get angry at you more often."

"You can always get this kind of kiss no matter what."

"I just have to get you in the mood..."

"Not hard to do."

The next hour consisted of us feeding each other chocolates and kissing each other senseless. I will never again doubt the power of chocolate after what happened later that night, too.

The next morning we were awoken by Bowser's barking.

"I should probably take him outside."

"Yeah, but he's got papers."

"Doesn't mean he's going to go on them."

"True."

She curled up into my side and sighed contently.

"I don't want to get up."

"Me neither."

"I'm sorry I overreacted."

"You didn't overreact. It's okay."

"So, we're good?"

"We're good."

She kissed me on the forehead before she rolled out of bed to tend to Bowser. I rolled over onto my back and just relaxed on the bed we had just spent the night in. I could still taste the chocolate and Annie on my lips.

I could honstly say I had a good night. And by the sound of Bowser's excited barking - he did, too.

Or he peed on the rug again.

**The ending to this one was...mah. My mind blanked without an ending. Sorry! But as always, please read, review, and enjoy!**


	22. Hold

**I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I LOVE ALL OF YOU. The production that I'm in is opening this Friday so I have been seriously swamped with practice everyday. This is the one day of the week I don't have to be at my school until 1 am! **

** Besides that, I am seriously so excited for this weeks episode but I have to watch it (hopefully) at midnight becuase I'll be performing the parent preview on Thursday night! Ugh...But it seems that maybe Annie and Auggie have some more intimate moments at least from the promo when he squeezes her hand. I'M HOPING. I'M SO HOPING. **

**Enough of my ranting...here we go!**

**She holds her beer and tequila well...it's everything else she has a problem with.**

"Excuse me, pardon me!" I smiled as I heard Annie's voice through the crowd of people in the DPD. She had been running around throughout day, trying to file all these papers for Joan before the weekend. Apparently, she had been "politely" pushing past people with a flurry of grapefruit perfrume and a brightly orange colored blouse all day.

I listened to her for a while as I did my own work, laughing occasionaly as she would bump into someone or curse when she ran into a chair. I had always been atune to her and finding her voice in a crowd was easy.

Hearing her cry of pain was even eaiser.

There was a crash, many gasps, and then Annie's cry which happened in a total of five seconds. I jumped from my seat and ran out of my office, bumping into some people myself as I tried to hear where Annie was.

"Annie?!"

"Jeez, Walker, are you alright?" It was Steve, a guy from accounting. He sounded like he was low to the ground so I dropped next to him and quickly found Annie by his side. There were scattered papers all around her and I crunched some of them as I scooted closer to her but I didn't care.

"Ow." She groaned.

"What happened. Are you hurt?" I went into full protective boyfriend mode and began to check her upper body for wounds.

"I'm sorry, Annie, I couldn't see above all these papers."

"What did you run into her with?" I demanded.

"This large metal cart I was using to - "

"You hit her with a metal cart!?" I tried my best to glare in his direction.

"Auggie, it's fine, I'm okay." Annie's tired voice reached my ears. She gripped my shoulders and I helped her stand but as soon as I put her on her feet she hissed and collapsed into my arms. "Okay, maybe I'm not okay."

"What hurts?" I asked.

"My right ankle," She admitted quietly. Suddenly, Joan's voice sounded from the top platform.

"Olivia, will you go get some ice, please? Auggie, get her to my office and lay her on the couch."

"Done and done." I started to drag her carefully toward the stairs but she restisted.

"I'm sure I just have to walk it off, it can't be that bad..." Her breaths were labored and most of her weight was on me so I sent her a dubious look. "Okay, maybe it's bad. But can't we just put some ice on it for a while and then I can finish my work?"

"Annie, there's no way you're doing anything else today. I mean, your wearing five-inch heels and you ran into a metal cart. Your ankle is probably at a brand new level of destroyed."

"They are four inches, thank you very much."

"What's the difference?"

It was difficult getting her up the stairs between her bum ankle and her complaining, but I quickly got her onto Joan's couch.

"Now stay."

"Where am I going to go, Auggie? It's not like I can really get up and walk away right now."

"I know you, Walker. You'd find a way." She was silent for a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah, I would. I'd probably army crawl."

"Then I'd trip over you and that wouldn't be good for either of us."

There was a knock on the door and it opened quietly.

"Someone called for a bag of ice?"

"Thank you, Olivia," I held my hand out for it and she gently touched my hand with it so I could grab it. "Put your leg up Annie."

"Auggie - "

"Now."

I assumed she did what she was told to do because there was a suffle of cushions and she let out an indignant huff. I reached out and grasped her shoulder with my left hand and slowly made my way down till I found her right ankle. Grimceing as I felt how swollen it was, I gently took off her heel and placed the ice pack on her ankle after adjusting the cushions under it so that the pack stayed in place.

"There. Does it feel better?"

"A little." I held her shoulders again and rubbed them.

"We might have to get you into a doctor. It could be broken."

"Maybe. But we don't have to worry about that for now. Hmm...that feels good." I moved my mini massage from her shoulders to her upper back and she hummed quietly as I worked. She was tense, and it took a couple times of me rubbing forcefully into her back before she began to sag lightly against me. I placed my head on her right shoulder and whispered in her ear,

"It should go without saying, but you need to relax."

"I've had a rough day."

"I've heard. Literally."

"I wasn't that loud."

"You forget who you're talking to."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Superhuman hearing Man."

"That was possibly the worst superhero name you could have ever come up with. Marvel and DC creators would be ashamed."

"I'm sorry I'm not a perfect name generator."

"Never said you were."

"You implied it."

I laughed and snuggled my chin into her shoulder while rubbing her lower back.

"I'm sure you can come up with great names, just not for superheros."

"I know I can. For a boy? Adam, Kody, William, Liam, Alex...ooh, I really like those last two. And for a girl? Lily, Amy, Elizabeth, that's pretty..."

"They sound great, sweetheart."

"Well, what are your favorite names?"

"Mine? For what?"

"I don't know...just in general I guess."

"Well, I've always liked Oliver for a boy. And Abigail for a girl."

"Those are pretty specific...and cute."

"Thanks, I'm glad my name choices are considered 'cute'."

"But they are!"

Near the end of her sentence I heard the door open and shut quickly.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Oh, Olivia just left. I hadn't even noticed she was still in the room."

"So she just heard all of that?"

"Must have."

"Awkward." Annie laughed and finally relaxed, laying her enitre body on mine.

"Yeah, awkward."

We were silent for a few minutes as I kept rubbing her back and her arms. All I could feel was her breathing against my chest and the slight flutter of fabric as she shifted on the couch a little. The door opened suddenly and I froze.

"Oh. I didn't realize you were still in here, Auggie."

"Sorry Joan, I didn't want to leave her alone."

She didn't respond and I could only guess she was taking in our positions.

"Yes, well, you have work to do and I have a medic here to take care of Annie."

"But - "

"You'll see her after work, either at home or in the hospital. The medic will have to decide that." She interrupted.

"Auggie, go," Annie's soft and calm voice reached my ears and she cupped my chin. "I'll be fine."

I sighed in defeat. "Alright."

"I also have the papers you dropped Annie. Might want to watch where you going next time?" I could hear the asmusement in Joan's voice and Annie scoffed.

"That cart totally had it out for me, it was not my fault."

"Sure it wasn't." I chuckled as Annie lightly hit my chest.

"In here, John." I assumed the medic had walked in the room so I stood.

"Take care of her."

"I will," he answered.

"See you later, honey." I stopped before I walked out the door. She had never called me something like that out loud in the workplace, let alone in front of Joan. I grinned at her.

"Definately, sweetheart."

"Oh get a room you two."

Annie and I laughed as Joan pushed me out of the room and followed me down the stairs to my office.

"She'll be okay, Auggie."

"Yeah, I know. Never an uneventful day with her around is it?"

"No. And the events get even crazier when it's the two of you. Now, get some work done." She patted my shoulder as a goodbye and I gave her a little wave. It was weird now to not hear her voice through the other conversations but as I heard the metal crutches hit the stairs about an hour later, the smile came back to my face. And I couldn't hold back the laugh as she dropped the folder she was holding again and swore.

I'll always say her fingers are like butter.

**Alright! There it is! I'm starting the next chapter right now so who knows!? Maybe they'll be two...possibly three...chapters today! Whoo!**


	23. Sketch

**She likes to draw – and while I'll never know if she's as good as everyone says she is, I always stay in a position for a very long time, just listening to her pencil scratch the paper. **

**WARNING - M. Just M.**

"Hey, Auggie, will you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Will you not move for the next...hour or so?" I lifted my head slightly off the bed where we were lounging on a bright Sunday morning. The sheet that had been covering my shoulders fell off and a slight breeze hit my warm skin.

"Why?"

"I want to draw and you're the best looking subject right now."

I smiled. "Alright. But if I fall asleep, you're going to have the duty of waking me up."

"Done."

I snuggled back into the bed and my hand gently grazed my T-shirt that Annie had worn to bed. I heard her pencil start scratching on the paper.

"I heard you're an incredible drawer."

"I wouldn't say incredible, but I can at least draw a stick figure."

"Good. I wouldn't want my stick image ruined by a wrong line."

She laughed. "Don't worry. Your stick figure shall be perfect. Maybe I'll even add some things to it. Like actual body parts and some shadows."

"Do as you wish." I left her alone then, allowing her to delve into her drawing and I found it fascinating to hear when her pencil would get faster on the paper and when it slow down and become lighter. I couldn't even fall asleep I was so engrossed in her and her pencil. Suddenly, the scratching stopped.

"Okay, I think I have the basics. Now I just need to get the details." I sat up and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and nuzzling her neck.

"I wish I could see how great you were."

Her head turned toward me and for a moment it seemed like she didn't know how to respond to my sudden and brash statement.

"Here." She took my hand and I heard a page in her sketchbook flip over. Placing my hand on a sheet of paper, I realized that it was the back of the one she had just drawn on. She had pressed so hard that it left bumps of lines on the other side. She gently guided my hand around the page and I could slightly imagine the picture with what little I had to go on.

"Looks great, Annie." I whispered.

"Want to help me draw another one?"

I raised an eyebrow at her but she was already moving, flipping her sketchbook to a new page. She grabbed my hand that was around her again and wrapped it around her own which was holding a pencil.

"How about the bottom of this lamp. It's pretty cool."

"Sure."

And her hand started moving, long strokes at first and then little ones, my hand following her every move. I had her in a little cocoon and she slided over so that she was sitting in my lap. I laid my head against her left shoulder and took in the warmth of her body. Too soon, our hands stopped.

"There. That looks good," She turned to look at me. "Thanks for helping."

"No problem. Didn't you want to finish the details on that other one?"

"Oh, yeah," I heard the pages flip again. "But I need to look at them first."

I opened my arms wide and leaned against the headboard. "Go for it."

She giggled. "Oh, I can't just look from afar. I have to get every single detail right." Her hands slowly glided over my chest and to my shoulders. "Like how your shoulders come together with your chest and neck."

Her fingers danced up my neck to my chin and I let out a little breath. Straddling me, her fingers meandered over my face, slowly going over every part. "How your eyes permantely have smile marks and how your jaw line is more square than rounded."

Placing my hands on her hips, I pulled her closer, wanting to feel more of her. Her hands went to the back of my neck and moved downward, back around to my chest. She moved them over my shoulders and down my arms. "And of course I have to get how muscular your arms are, they were maybe the biggest part of the drawing."

Her hands skipped from my upper arms to my stomach and around to my back. "Then the lines of your back have to be percise, otherwise it's going to look all wrong."

She went downward now, and I didn't think my breathing could get any more ragged. She skimmed over my boxers and grasped my upper thighs instead. "I could see the top of your boxers but the rest was covered by sheets. And although your legs aren't in the picture, it's good to get an entire overview of what your working with."

Her voice had become breathy as well and my hands slipped off her hips as she scooted down to caress my legs. She was silent for a moment but then came back up and put her hands on the headboard as she leaned over me. "I think I have a pretty good idea now."

I took a deep breath before opening my mouth. "If the artist can know its subject that well, don't you think the subject has a right to know the artist just as well?"

"I guess," her mouth was millimeters from mine.

"Then I better get surveying, huh?" I took her lips then and allowed my hands to travel underneath her T-shirt. She moaned and I heard her toss her sketchbook and pencil lightly to the floor. Flipping us over, our mouths never disconnected and I milked the kiss for all it was worth. Placing her head in my hands, I moved my thumbs around and felt her eyes, her nose, everything.

"You always have had beautiful cheek bones." I murmured as my fingers skimmed across them. I traced her small ears and down her chin, taking time on her collar bone. I went over her t-shirt, mapping out her shoulders and slim arms before jumping over to my chest. I went around her breasts to her stomach and I could hear her little indignant huff. Taking my pointer finger of my left hand, I traced around her belly button as my other hand glided down her right leg.

"So beautiful, so perfect," I whispered in her ear as I wrapped my left hand in hers, feeling her slim fingers. I realized then that there was so much of her I didn't know, no matter how many times we've been intimate. I had never taken the time to actually look at her. I placed my hands on her hips again and she automatically wrapped her legs around my waist. I couldn't take it anymore and kissed her gently and she lifted herself into the kiss. We laid there for a while, just kissing, until my wandering hands made their way under her t-shirt again.

"Auggie..." She moaned. I kissed her harder then, lifting the t-shirt over her head and throwing somewhere unknown. Her fingers knotted in my hair and I lifted her by her back to get closer to her. She wasn't wearing a bra so I let my fingers dance around her right breast until they found her nipple. I gently squeezed it and got an appreciative gasp from her. I teased her for a minute, nipping at her neck and massaging her chest. She unwrapped her legs from my waist and gently slid a knee between my legs, landing right next to my package. The sensation of it threw me a bit.

"Annie..." I moved my hands lower and fiddled with the top of her underwear as her hands traced the muscles on my back. I felt her soft skin and quickly pulled her underwear to her ankles where she promptly kicked them off. I peppered her stomach with kisses and moved down until I was kissing right in line with her hips. Suddenly, I felt her hands slide my boxers over my thighs and I was quick to discard them. Her body was shaking a bit an anticipation and I definately was at attention.

I kissed her a couple more times, a bit lower, and she moaned in pleasure. I licked at her nerve bundle and her hips bucked in response.

"God, Auggie." I replaced my tongune with my hand and slid up the kiss her stomach again as my fingers danced around between her legs. "Please..."

Sucking the skin between her neck and shoulder, I slid one finger into her and she rolled against me, groaning. I took her lips again, and all thoughts of going slow vanished from my mind. I added a finger and then another and her whimpers turned into loud, ragged breaths. Her wetness turned me on even more and I moaned as she shifted under me slightly.

Apparently, she was impatient because she reached between my legs and grasped my member, squeezing slightly. I released her skin and buried my face into her neck.

"Ugh, An - Annie."

"Payback," she whispered. Somehow, the thrusts of my fingers got in time with her strokes and I felt like I could go at any second.

"Auggie, please. I need you." She gasped. I wasted no time in pulling my fingers out and positioning myself on top of her. She whimpered slightly at the loss and I even groaned when her fingers slipped off me. But I wasted no time in sliding into her slowly.

She gripped my neck and I wrapped my arms around and up her back, clutching her shoulders as I pulled her closer. Rolling her hips against me, we soon got into a familiar rhythm and my thrusts became automatically faster and harder.

"Auggie...yes," Our cheeks came together and I kissed the side of her lips lightly. I felt her tense up and she found her release.

"Auggie!" My name on her lips brought me to mine and we rode them out together. Finally, My body gave out and I laid on top of her, breathing heavily.

I gently pulled out of her and laid next to her instead of on top of her. We laid like that for a long time, wrapped in each others arms and my eyelids began to feel droopy in my content and saturated state.

"I think I can finish my drawing now," she reminded me.

"Oh, yeah." I leaned over the bed and found her sketchbook and pencil and handed them over to her. She flipped to a page and I could feel her hand putting furious pressure on the page. She was done quickly and flipped a page. She was quiet for a moment then she handed it over to me.

"There, it should read right."

I was puzzled, but she grabbed my hand and placed it on the paper. There were the bumped lines again, but this time I realized that the lines made the letter I.

"Keep going."

I slid my hand across the paper and figured out the letters.

I.

L.

O.

V...

I froze and smiled. I quickly finished the sentence in my head.

"I love you, too," I kissed her gently and she laid her head on my chest.

"Thank you for being my subject."

"I'll be your subject any day."

"Maybe I could draw a picture of myself someday, with you telling me what to draw."

"I'll have to do a little more surveying before that happens."

"Well, just make an appointment, I can probably get you into the site you'd like to survey."

"I'm sure you can," I laughed and she snuggled closer to me. I still wished I could see what her drawings looked like, but I knew they were beautiful because she took so much time on them. She never missed a detail, ever. And as she slowly fell asleep on me, I traced her face again. I promised myself that I would never miss another detail that pertained to her.

Ever.

**Whoo! Another one done! I couldn't make this one work in my head without making it M so...that's why. Please, read, review, and enjoy!**


	24. Call

**When she's overseas for a mission, she always calls me at night. If she doesn't I start to worry.**

My fingers tapped out an unfamiliar tune on the end of the couch. I probably should go to bed, as I had to get up early tomorrow, but I couldn't. Not when Annie hadn't called me yet. We had made a deal when she first became my operative the she would call me every night when she was overseas to check in. Obviously we always had to factor in time changes, but they had never been an issue before. She had been sent oversees to Germany a day ago to turn yet another asset. She called me last night, and she sounded fine!

But the time was eleven thirty and my phone laid silently on the coffee table, awaiting her call.

Had something happened from the time I said goodbye to her at work and now? Was she hurt? Was she sick? Had she been kidnapped? Did she forget?

I rubbed my hands over my face and grabbed my phone again, dialing her number. I had called her myself multiple times and yet she never answered. I waited anxiously through the dial tone and let out a breath of frustration when I got her voicemail. The beep sounded.

"Annie. I'm worried about you. Please, pick up your phone and call me as soon as you can. If you don't get back to me by midnight I'm calling Joan and I'm getting over there to find you. Don't test me on that either, you know I will. If you're in trouble...I'll help you, I promise. If you just forgot...you will be trouble," I let out a sigh. "but know I love you. Please call."

I hung up and tossed my phone ungracefully onto the table. I sat there for a while longer until I couldn't take it anymore. I stood and made my way to the kitchen, hoping a late night snack might calm my nerves. I had just made it halfway through a sandwich when my watch buzzed, signaling it was midnight. That was all I could handle.

I grabbed my phone again and dialed Joan's number. It only took her two rings to answer.

"Hello?"

"Joan, it's Auggie."

"I know, but what are you doing calling my personal cellphone at midnight?"

"Are you still at the office?"

"Unfortunately. What do you need?"

"Annie hasn't called me tonight. I'm worried." Joan knew about our little agreement and actually praised it. That way the handler always knew if his or her operative was getting into bed safely so she had encouraged other pairs to do it as well.

"She hasn't? She's usually pretty good about that."

"I know, and that's why I'm worried. I'm scared that something's happened to her."

"Alright, calm down. I'm sure she may have just fallen asleep or something. Here, let me try calling her."

She went off the line for a while and I played with the knife I had used to cut my sandwich while I waited. Too soon, she was back on the line.

"She didn't answer me either. What do you want to do?"

"I want to go over there."

"Auggie, it's midnight. At least one o'clock over there and you want me to order a private jet to get you over to her?"

"Yes."

Joan let out a tired sigh. "Do you know how many hoops I'll have to jump through? How many favors I'll have to call in? Just because she's a couple hours late in calling you?"

"I understand Joan, but please. I don't ask you for much."

She huffed. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, how about you call Fred and get yourself over here?"

"Thank you. I'll be there soon."

"I know you will."

She hung up and I quickly dialed Fred's number. The poor guy sounded exhausted but he willingly got out of his bed and into his car. It took him only a few minutes to reach my apartment when I told him the situation. I had been waiting outside for him so when he arrived I got in quickly and he started driving away as soon as my door slammed shut.

"Anything from Ms. Walker?"

"No. And you know she wants you to call her Annie, Fred."

"I know. But have I ever not called you Mr. Anderson?"

"True."

Fred stepped on it and got me to Langely in an impressive time. I gave him a tip which he unwillingly took and flashed my ID on my way in. By the time I got to Joan's office, she was on the phone with someone else.

"Yes, I know it's late, but I need to check on one of my operatives. Yes. Yes, the both of us. Thank you."

I heard the phone click and her chair creaked as she stood.

"We've got a jet."

"Great. I promise I'll find her and come right back, Joan."

"Oh no you don't. I'm coming with you."

"But - "

"I already told Arthur and the service is expecting both of us. I'm worried about her, too. This isn't like her." She placed her hand on my shoulder and I smiled at her, grateful for the contact.

"No, it isn't."

Half an hour later we were sitting in the jet waiting for takeoff. I had called Annie seven more times, yet she hadn't answered.

"You're going to kill your battery, Auggie."

"I brought a charger."

"Calling her again and again isn't going to change anything. If she gets to her phone and sees all these missed calls she _will_ call you back. Just try to relax on the way there, alright?"

"I don't know if I can."

"Then use you excess energy and map out the fastest way to her safehouse. We don't want to waste any time once we get there."

"Okay."

We tookoff about a minute later and I pulled out my laptop and began mapping out a route, my phone sitting on the table in front of me. It didn't take long to Germany and by the time we did, I had about four different routes that would take the same amount of time. I slid the computer over to Joan after we had landed.

"Auggie, I asked for one."

"My brain came up with four."

"Apparently. Let't take this one. Looks like it would have less traffic."

"Perfect." I grabbed Joan's arm as we descended the stairs onto the landing strip. The government cars were waiting with a full army of German operatives. The CIA took an MIA agent seriously and other agengies didn't get in its way. The guy driving started talking about protocol if we found out that Annie really was missing but I didn't listen. I just wanted Annie to be okay.

The ride to her safe house was even harder than the plane. My brain kept wandering to all these awful things that could have happened to her and I couldn't help but fear the worst. I couldn't lose her, not after everything we've been though. I couldn't lose the one person who understood me, who knew me, who loved me. If I lost her, my soul would be completely broken. If I lost her, I don't think I'd ever stop grieving. If I lost her, my heart would break into a million pieces and I don't think I could fix it.

Because she's the only person who's ever put my heart back together.

"We're here." The man's accented voice broke through my thoughts and I quickly opened the door and stepped into the cool air.

"Wait up, Auggie." I stayed put impatiently as Joan walked around the car and nudged me gently with her arm. I grabbed it and she led me to the front door. I knocked gently but no one answered. I knocked a little harder and this time I thought I heard something on the other side of the door. I motioned to Joan and she tensed. I heard someone walk up to the door.

"Who is it?"

Oh thank God. It was Annie's voice.

"Mingus."

"Auggie?" The door flung open and I could just imagine her stunned face. "Joan? What...what are you doing here?"

"Annie," I breathed. I stepped forward and engulfed her in a hug, grimacing when she winced a little.

"Yeah, Auggie, it's me. Now what are you doing here?"

"You didn't call," I was a little embarrassed to admit I was close to crying, but I was relieved that she was okay.

"_Oh no._ Auggie, I'm_ so sorry._ I had a rough day and I came back here and knocked out on the couch. I'm sorry." She hugged me tighter.

"It's alright, boys. False alarm. Thank you."

"No problem. Are you coming back with us." The driver asked.

"I will. I think he wants to stay here."

I released Annie and looked in Joan's direction as I said, "You'll let me stay?"

At the same time Annie breathed, "You'll let him stay?"

"Yes. Just get your mission done, Annie. I'll be your contact at Langley for this mission now. Get some sleep."

"Thank you, Joan," I said honestly.

"No problem. But expect some extra work on your desk when you get back." I frowned but I could already hear her heels walking away and the car doors slamming. As they drove away, Annie gripped my arms.

"Auggie, you flew all the way here this late just because I didn't call you?"

"I was worried. You've never missed a check in and it's not like I'm just going to go to bed when I don't know if you're alright or not."

She sighed and gently pulled me inside. Shutting the door, she slid my jacket off my shoulders.

"I know I worried you and I'm sorry. I must have been really out. But don't you think you acted a little unreasonably? I mean you dragged poor Joan out here!"

"She opted to come herself, I didn't ask her to. And Annie, you're talking to the guy who called to get you out of going to Syria, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah." There was a little snip to her voice.

"I just...I can't be away from you without knowing your safe." I found her hands and gripped them tightly. I could feel her gaze drill into my head then she relaxed.

"I know, I know. I probably would have done the same thing. I'm just surprised that Joan went along with it."

"Yeah. Me, too." She laughed, but then her laugh turned into a groan. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just got into a bit of a tussle after I got off the phone with you this afternoon. I'm okay."

"Let me see."

"Auggie - "

"Protective boyfriend. Flew at one o'clock in the morning to find you. And I'm bigger than you. Are you really going to fight this?"

She huffed and grabbed my hand, placing it on her side.

"He just got in a good shot. I don't think anything's broken."

I ran my fingers up and down her warm flesh and stiffened when I felt the gauze she had wrapped around herself. I tried my best to control my anger.

"What about the asset?"

"I turned him. He told me everything and I set up a time to get him to Langley tomorrow for more questioning."

"Good. Now, let's get some ice."

"Kitchen is straight ahead and to your right." I walked forward with one hand on the wall and the other in Annie's hand until my hand fell into open air. I turned and found the fridge. I opened the freezer and groped around until I found a bag of something.

"Peas? Really?"

"I didn't know what they were. They're cold, aren't they?"

She giggled but then hissed as I gently put the peas on her side.

"Is this okay?"

"Yep. I'm good."

We sat at her kitchen table for a while, talking, until my watch declared it was five o'clock in Germany.

"We probably should get some sleep. I was planning on calling for a get out of jail free card this morning...but then I fell asleep."

"I know."

I threw the peas back in the fridge as Annie pushed the chairs back into the table.

"Bedroom is upstairs, then the first left."

"Got it." I reached out my hand to take hers but she didn't come forward.

"I have to pack up some things down here first. I'll be up soon."

"Okay."

I left her to pack and carefully made my way up the stairs to her bedroom. I had changed into sleep wear and was crawling into the bed when my phone rang.

"Annie Walker," It stated. What? I grabbed the phone and brought it to my ear.

"Annie?"

"Hey, Auggie. Just calling to check in for the night." I sat shocked for a moment, then burst out laughing. I could hear her laughter downstairs and I brought the phone to my ear again.

"Thanks for the check in."

"No problem. But I better get to bed soon, there's a very attractive, intelligent, caring, and loving man waiting for me."

"You bet I'm waiting. I'm waiting very anxiously waiting for an incredible, sexy, and kind woman to join me."

"Oh, she's coming. And how do you know I was talking about you?"

"I'm a good guesstimator."

"Guesstimator?"

"Go with it."

"Okay." Her voice was at the door now. "I guess we should get some sleep, huh?"

I hung up and opened my arms. "Your chamber awaits."

She laughed and curled up next to me.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming here. For caring. For loving me like you do."

"Anything for my other half." I kissed her forehead as she smacked me.

"Jeez, you and your pickup lines."

"I am the king."

"Sure you are."

She fell asleep quickly and my eyes couldn't stay open much longer. I clutched her tightly to assure myself that she wasn't going anywhere and finally, after the hellish night I had just had, allowed myself to breathe in her scent and fall into an easy sleep.

**Anti climatic ending, but oh well! I'm on a roll! Whoo who! Please, read, review, and enjoy! **


	25. Nightgown

**I don't know why all of these are becoming sexual...I guess I just kind of write that way! But this one doesn't get bad at all, so it's okay. :)**

**When she's not wearing one of my old t-shirts to bed, she wears a long white nightgown that goes to her knees. She says it makes her feel old fashioned. **

I flung myself onto the bed, groaning as the aching bones in my body protested. I had worked nonstop all day, even going up and down stairs to get to the basement dwellers when our phone lines went out. They were patient enough with me, as I had been one of them for a short time, but even their tempers got the best of them once in a while. Even Barber and I got in a little spat. The only person I hadn't had a heated discussion with today was Annie.

Speaking of which, where was my wonderful girlfriend?

I sat up, swinging my head around and searching for sounds of her. She had been lucky enough to leave work early to go do some arrends before coming home. I hadn't thought she'd be out this long, though.

The sound of the apartment door sliding open interrupted my thoughts and I slid off the bed to go greet her. I smelt her before I heard her, her custom grapefruit scent filling my nostrils. I heard bags rustling and the fridge opening and closing.

"You went grocery shopping?"

"That's usually what someone does when the home they live in is pretty much bare of food, hun." I found her quickly and wrapped my arms around her from behind, locking her in a bear hug. "You look like hell, Aug."

"Thanks, that's what everyone wants to hear after a long day."

"Well, it's true," she flipped around in my arms and placed her warm palms on my chest. "You looked really busy whenever I saw you today. Rough day?"

"That's an understatement," I leaned forward and did one of my favorite things to do which was to bury my head in her hair. "I really missed you today."

"I'm sorry. I would have come to visit you if I had thought you wanted company. You were bouncing around like a rag doll."

"Yeah, I felt like one, too." I pulled away from her and she rubbed my arms comfortingly.

"Here, how about you go lay down and I'll be in there in a second?" I sent her a questioning look. "Just do it. I won't be long."

I gave her a quick peck on the lips and obeyed her, making my way back to the lovely and warm bed that seemed to be calling my name. I laid there for a while and I almost fell completely asleep, but then I heard her clanging around in the bathroom and I forced myself to stay awake until she came to bed.

"Auggie? Are you awake?" She was closer to me than I expected. I opened my eyes and reached out for her.

"Yeah." The bed dipped with her added weight and her hands found mine. They were always warm and it felt like a warm sheet had been placed over me as I wrapped her body around mine once again. I expected to feel the fabric of one of my old t-shirts, but she was wearing something new, something soft and silky. "What's this?"

"This is my new nightgown."

"New nightgown? My t-shirts weren't enough?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll still wear your t-shirts. I just saw this when I was shopping and I really liked it so I got it."

"I thought you were grocery shopping?"

"I...did some other shopping."

"Of course you did."

"Oh stop it," she laughed and pushed me over onto my stomach.

"Why do you like it? What does it look like?" I rubbed my fingers over the bottom of it, feeling a little strip of lace flowing by her knees.

"It's white and has lace all around it. It's pretty simple."

"I like it." She didn't answer me but instead straddled me across my waist. "What are you doing?"

"You said you had a rough day, so what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't give her tired boyfriend a back rub?"

"I feel like this is going to be used against me one day."

"It might. It's a strong possibility."

Her hands found my shoulders and her thumbs kneaded into my knotted muscles. My body automatically convlused with it as the knots moved under her thumbs. Groaning, I let myself fall deeper into the matress as her hands moved lower on my shoulders.

"Hmm, that feels good."

"It should. Your shoulders are a mess."

"That would be from me leaning over a computer all day."

"Bad boy."

"It's my job."

"Being over a computer or being a bad boy?"

"Both."

"I don't consider you a bad boy."

"I definately am." She dug her fingers deeper into my back and I let out a little squeak of pain.

"Bad boy, huh? What kind of bad boy whimpers at a back rub?"

"A bad boy who's been in front of a computer all day." She scoffed at me and slid her hands against my sides, massaging them gently. "You never told me why you liked your new night gown."

"It makes me feel old fashioned."

"Because it looks old fashioned or because no one wears those anymore?"

"Both."

Her fingers gently pinched my lower back and I mewled in apprication. The fact that she could have this effect on me was astounding. I knew that if it was anyone else doing this that I'd probably be laying down and not making any noise at all.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Lots."

"Good." She laid down gently on top of me and kneaded her fingers deeper into my shoulders.

"You can't be comfortable like that."

"I'm good," she answered. I felt her nightgown run over my bare skin and I shivered at the sensation. "You okay?"

"Ye - yeah. I'm okay." As she moved her fingers, the nightgown shifted around on my back and I couldn't help the slight buldge that appeared in my boxers. I held my legs in place, trying desperately not to move it against the bed.

"Ugh, you have no idea what you do to me." I moaned.

"A little tight down there?" She whispered in my ear.

"Just a little."

"Sorry."

"I'm not complaining."

"Your not?" She kissed my neck gently and the shudder that ran through me was ridiculous.

"Why would I?" I brought my arms around and rubbed her thighs in time with her fingers on my back.

"Are you tired?"

Not wanted to speak, I nodded. To my disappointment, she lifted herself up and laid next to me.

"Then you should get some sleep. You still have to go to work tomorrow."

"You are so cruel." I groaned.

"I'm a girl keeping her boyfriend healthy. It's Friday tomorrow and then we'll have the whole weekend to ourselves." I rolled so I could spoon her and she kissed my hair before snuggling into me.

"I'm looking forward to that."

"Me too."

As she fell asleep, I gently slid my hand up and down her nightgown. It felt good against my skin and that plus her slow breathing quickly lulled me into a tranquil state. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was her soft voice,

"I love you."

**I got a little sappy at the end, because I felt like it. :) Please, read, review and enjoy!**


	26. Duck

**She can get very protective, very quickly. If she feels I'm threatened, she becomes scary Annie and everyone backs away.**

"Be careful out there, Auggie, this guy is dangerous." Joan's voice vibrated in my ear and I rubbed my ear in a way I hoped was normal.

"Don't worry, Joan, I've got this."

"It's been a while since you've been in the field."

"Doesn't mean I've forgotten what to do. But I'm curious...there were plenty of men who you could have chosen and you chose the blind guy who technically isn't an operative anymore?"

"I trust you, Auggie, and just because you're blind doesn't mean you aren't a good agent. I'm just telling you to be careful."

"I know, I know. Does Annie know about this yet?"

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"I don't like keeping things from her, Joan."

"I know, you can tell her afterwards."

"She won't like that, either," I sighed. Joan had called me into her office almost as soon as I had gotten to work that day, asking me to go undercover for the day to get a suspected terrorist out in the open. Apparently, this guy met with men and men only otherwise Joan would have sent Annie.

I shifted in the uncomfortable chair of the diner I was sitting in and tapped my foot impatiently. He was supposed to meet me over half an hour ago and he still hadn't arrived. I picked a little at the sandwich I had ordered to keep my cover but I wasn't that hungry. According to our reports, he had always been on time for meetings, but now it seemed that I was proving that report wrong.

"Mr. Wilkins?" I started at the voice behind me and turned quickly.

"Yes?"

"Sorry I'm late, traffic is horrible around here."

"Tell me about it."

"I wasn't aware that you were..."

"Blind? Yeah, I get that a lot when I meet new people."

"Sorry. Now, I understand that you have information about a way into Langley and you are...kind enough to share?"

"I wouldn't say kindness is the main motivation."

"You would like something in return."

"Why wouldn't I? This is sensitive information that you need."

"How much?"

I pretended to think for a moment. "Fifteen hundred."

"That's not a bad offer."

"It's a low bid for the information I have."

He was silent for a moment. I thought he was considering my offer but then I felt something cold against my side.

"You played a good terrorist, Mr. Anderson."

"What are you talking about?"

"You of all people must understand how wonderful technology is. I have a little device strapped to my arm that reads through every voice I'm near. And it just so happened to connect your voice to a Mr. August Anderson of the CIA. It's illegal technology, yes...but what sort of terrorist would I be if I didn't have the dirtiest toys?"

Well, crap. That's probably something the CIA should look into...

But I had bigger situation. The cold sensation on my side shifted a little and I realized then that it was the barrel of a gun.

"You can either come with me now, quietly, or I can shoot you right now. It's your choice, Mr. Anderson."

As I took a deep breath, I was really hoping that Joan was already working on my escape plan.

**Joan's POV**

"Shit!" I threw down my headset and went to work on sending out an extraction team for Auggie. I just hoped that he could hang in there until help arrived.

"Joan?" I looked up quickly to see Annie standing in my doorway. Great...

"Yes, Annie?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong. Just a mission that went a bit...um...awry."

"Oh. Well, have you seen Auggie? I have a question for him."

I looked at her carefully, hoping she didn't see the worry in my eyes. But I always forget that she's one of the best spies I had and he expression soon became panicked.

"Joan...where's Auggie?"

"He's um...he's..." She walked forward until she was practically leaning on my desk, her fierce gaze burning holes into my skull.

"I won't ask again, Joan. Where is he?"

I sighed. No use trying to keep it from her now. "He's out in the field. I sent him to try to bring this terrorist out into the open and it worked. Until he figured out that Auggie wasn't who he said he was."

I waited for it. There was a small pause, a little intake of breath and then -

"What!?"

"Annie - "

"You sent him out there alone!? Why didn't you send me? Is he okay? Where is he?"

"I've sent an extraction team. Right now he's...a little tied up."

"Oh my God. I'm going out there, where is he?"

"Annie, you are not going out there. It's too - "

"Don't you dare say it's too dangerous!" She was furious now, he face turning redder by the second. "My boyfriend is out there and he's in danger! I'm going in!"

She stalked around my desk and I backed away fearfully. I had never seen her like this. The only other time she was ever close to this was when Auggie and Parker where captured by pirates. However now, I suppose, the stakes were higher for her.

She leaned over my computer and read the address. "Betsy's Diner. I can get there in five minutes."

She turned on her heel and practically ran out of my office.

"Annie!"

"You can't stop me, Joan!" The entire department stopped and looked at the steaming agent grabbing her jacket and keys from her desk and stomping out the doors.

"I know I can't, but be careful!"

I didn't know if she heard me. Instead, I headed back to my office and read the encouraging note on my computer that the extraction team was on its way.

I didn't think they'd get there before Annie, though.

**Auggie's POV**

"Let's think about this. You're really going to shoot a federal agent in the open? You won't get away if you do."

"I'm a fast runner."

"People here have seen your face."

"As you know, I'm also a very good hider."

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I had heard static coming from my ear piece and a couple voices, but I had no idea what they were saying. I was surprised this guy hadn't even found my earpiece yet. Suddenly, Joan was back in my ear.

"Don't worry, Auggie, I've got a team coming."

So now I knew that people were coming for me. The real question was - will they get here in time?

"Any last words?"

"Yeah. Why the hell is that always the last thing anyone asks before they kill someone?"

"Don't ask me. I just do the shooting."

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and a couple shrieks from other patrons. The gun got pushed hard into my side, but the holder let out a little grunt himself.

"I swear, if you don't pull that gun away from him, I will shoot you where you sit."

_No, oh God no. Annie_.

"A fierce personality. I like that in a woman."

"Put. The. Gun. Down."

"Not a chance."

"Get out of here, Walker." I said through clenched teeth. She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to be in the line of fire right now.

"Not a chance, Anderson."

We knew better not to use each other's first names, but I just wanted to scream out her name and tell her to run home.

"You seem to be very close for coworkers. I didn't know you actually made friends in the CIA. Aren't you all a little too stuck up for that?"

"You're outnumbered. There's more coming and then you'll have no choice but to give up. So either you come quietly, or you'll be taken away kicking and screaming."

"I'd rather do that than give up on my mission."

Great. A guy with a massive ego. This wasn't going to be easy. He was silent for a moment, and I wondered what was going through his mind.

"Why didn't you come with the rest of you team? I don't believe it was because you were just close by."

"I'm a faster driver."

That's an understatement.

"No. There's more. Much more."

No one spoke and I could hear the quiet sobs of people who were crouching under tables, frightened by the showdown that was occurring. I felt awful - these people shouldn't have to go through this. I begged silently for the team to get here quickly so they could get everyone out safely.

"You obviously care for her."

I whipped my head back to him and put on the most passive face I can manage.

"What do you mean?"

"Put your gun down. This is your last warning." Her voice shook a little with anger and I wanted nothing more than to hug her and soothe her worries.

"When she came in, your face had a look of utter shock and fear on it. You don't want her to get hurt."

My palms began to feel sweaty. If he hurt Annie...

"Why don't I give you a little incentive to come with me, then?"

The cold gun left my side and I could only guess that he was swinging it toward Annie. She let out a little gasp and I heard a scream by a nearby patron.

"No!" I let out a guttural cry I didn't even know I had in me and surged forward, hitting him off his stool and onto the floor. The gun went off. The screams were deafening. My earpiece was driving me crazy, with Joan's voice yelling in my ear.

"Auggie! Auggie! What happened!"

"Stand down! Stand down!" The team was here. They pulled me off of him and stood me up.

"Annie...Annie!" I spun around, straining my ears to find her voice.

"Mr. Anderson..."

"Where's Annie? Annie!" Someone held me back and started to push me to where I assumed an ambulance was waiting.

"We need to get you checked out, sir."

"No, where's Annie. I need to find Annie."

"We'll find her, sir. I promise."

"No...Annie!" I fought against him and I was surprised when I almost knocked him over.

"Mr. Anderson, please!" There was a new voice, but I didn't care. I had to get back into that diner and get to Annie.

"They're arresting him now, it's okay." The new voice said.

"That's not why he's - "

"Annie!" I fought against the arms holding me back harder. The two voices were silent for a moment and I kept fighting until I felt a small prick in my arm.

"I'm sorry, sir. We'll take care of you."

My head became fuzzy and my words became slurred. My legs gave out and I assumed it was the two officers by me that caught me.

Suddenly, my eyes slid shut and all the noises around me drowned into a black abyss.

**The Next Day**

_Beep._

_Beep. _

_Beep._

What the hell?

_Beep._

I shifted my head a little and moaned at how heavy it felt. I moved my fingers and forced my eyes open.

"Auggie!" Joan's voice reached my ears and I felt a warm hand slide into mine.

"Jo-Joan?"

"I'm glad your awake. We were worried about you."

"What...what happened?"

Quickly, everything came back to me. The diner, the terrorist, the gun...Annie. I shot up, elicting a little gasp from Joan, and strained my ears for her voice.

"Annie. Where's Annie?"

"Auggie, she's okay. She's alright." She pressed on my chest to get me to lie back down but I wouldn't have it. My head spun and the noises in the hospital seemed even louder but I fought to hear anything of her. Her voice, her heels, her breathing.

"Where is she?"

"She just went to go get some coffee. She's been here all night with you.

As Joan spoke, the scent of grapefruit hit my nose. She had been here.

"What - "

"Auggie!" I heard someone rush into the room and suddenly her arms were around me, squeezing tightly. My entire world slowed down then, finally falling back into place.

"_Annie_." I breathed. My arms snaked their way around her and I pulled her farther onto the bed with me.

"I'll leave you two be." I waved a little goodbye to Joan and then heard her heels walk down the tile hall.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Annie sniffed. I felt something warm land on my shoulder. I pulled away a little bit and wiped at her face.

"No, you shouldn't be crying. I don't like it when you cry." She sobbed again and threw her arms back around my neck.

"I couldn't find you and then they told me that they had taken you away in an ambulence and I thought...after the gun went off that you...oh, God, Auggie, I was so scared."

I hugged her harder.

"I wasn't shot, sweetie. Just tranquilized apparently." She pulled away.

"Yeah, I know. I ripped them a new one for that."

"Oh boy, you didn't turn into scary Annie, did you?"

"Damn straight, I did. They have no right to tranquilize my boyfriend. Why did they do that to you?" Her fingers traced my face and I grabbed her hand as I kissed her fingertips lightly.

"I was...going a little crazy."

"Over what?"

"I couldn't find you," I grabbed her face gently and leaned my forehead against hers. "When that gun went off, I thought you had been shot. I was so scared when you didn't answer me..."

"How could you not hear me screaming for you?"

"How did you not hear _me _screaming for _you_?"

"Touche."

I pulled her up carefully until she was laying right next to me. Suddenly, a thought came to my head.

"Please tell me he just shot a wall and not someone who was in the diner."

"He shot a wall. The bullet went right over my head."

I blanched. "He was close to shooting you in the head?"

She must have noticed that she made me uncomfortable because she started rubbing my chest.

"He would have shot me in the chest...if I hadn't ducked."

"You ducked."

"Yeah."

"And missed a bullet that went right by your head."

"Yeah."

I let out a little exhaused laugh. "Only you would have that luck. Wait, if you knew the bullet went right over your head, why did you think I had been shot?"

"I didn't know it went over my head until later when we were cleaning the scene. They made me stay there for a while and that's when one of them found the hole in the wall. It wasn't until then, and when they told me that you were resting at the hospital, that I stopped freaking out."

"I'm sorry," I kissed her forehead lightly.

"Yeah. Don't you ever do something like this again."

"I probably will go undercover some other time, Annie."

"I know you will. Just don't do it without me knowing about it...and monitoring it. Promise?"

"Only if you promise not to go guns blazing into a situation without any backup. You scared the hell out of me Annie."

"Ditto."

I laughed with her and I could feel her heartbeat against my chest. My eyes started to feel heavy again and I realized that the tranqulizer probably wasn't completely out of my system.

"Get some sleep, Auggie. I'll be right here."

"I know you will." Between her heartbeat and the warmth of her body, my heart began to come down from it's racing speed and I was able to close my eyes and relax comfortably. It hit me that I would probably never bounce back if I ever lost Annie. My heart couldn't take that strain. I hugged her tighter and laid my head in her hair.

I knew then that I couldn't lose Annie.

I couldn't lose _my_ Annie.

She was a piece of my heart and if I lost her, my heart would break into a million pieces.

And you can't put a puzzle back together without all the pieces.

**Phew, this one was a long one! But it was fun to write! We're getting closer and closer to a big milestone. ;) **

**Plus, BIG NEWS. Apparently, Disney Incorporated, THE DISNEY, is coming to see the show that my high school is putting on. They and some other company are flying in to see it and then we're test piloting some of their new musicals. Am I excited? ABSOLUTELY. WHOO! **

**Anyway, I hoped you liked today's installment! Please, read, review, and enjoy! :D**


	27. Punch

**Thank you for all the kind reviews! You are all so wonderful! :D**

**By the way, I have seen the newest episode...and at the ending...I squealed and jumped and...and everything. HE DIDN'T LEAVE HER. HE LOVES HER! MAHHHHH! I love everything, and I seriously can't wait for the season finale this Thursday. Except that makes me sad...any news on when Season five starts? Because I wanna know... **

**If I'm ever the cause of her pain, I go to the ends of the earth to fix it. If someone else is the cause of her pain, they'll have to go to the ends of the earth to get away from me.**

"Annie?" I leaned against her desk as I did almost every day, listening to her pecking away on her keyboard.

"Yeah?" she snipped. I was silent, a little surprised by her attitude.

"Um...I'm sorry?" Her pecking stopped.

"What are you sorry for?" Her voice wasn't as snippy but I kept my distance anyway.

"You seem upset with me...so I'm apologizing."

After a moment she let out a long sigh. "Oh, Auggie, it's not you. I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she resumed her pecking and I bravely knelt by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't get this angry eaisly, Annie. There's something wrong and I want to help you fix it."

She didn't answer but her typing slowed.

"It's nothing I can't handle by myself. I don't want to drag you into the middle of it."

"Are you in danger?"

"No."

"Are you in trouble?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean by I don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know. I could be...I could not be."

"That doesn't give me much."

"Auggie," she sighed and spun her chair toward me. "I'm a big girl. I can handle my big girl problems."

"I'm sorry that I'm worried about you."

I could hear her breathing through her mouth while she probably tried to control her anger. Suddenly, she leaned forward and pecked me on the cheek.

"Thank you for worrying about me. But you've got work to do and so do I. How about we talk about this when we get home, okay?"

I sighed. I didn't want to back down because I knew she was lying to me...but I didn't want to push her any further. "Okay."

"Okay. I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely."

She kissed me again and resumed her typing. I reluctantly stood and made my way back to my own office and opened a project that I had been working on for weeks. I tried to work on it, I really did, but I couldn't focus. Not when my girlfriend was keeping something from me. We always tried to tell each other everything after the whole Henry thing. That way, we worked as a team and not as seperate people.

Groaning, I put my head in my hands and spun around in my chair. I didn't know why this was bothering me so much but it was. I guess whenever it came to her I would get a little...anxious. I forced myself to work for a couple more hours but then I couldn't take it anymore and left my station to go converse with my team. The familiar sounds and smells hit me and I smiled despite my current inner conflicts.

"Hey, um, Auggie?"

"Yeah, Barber?"

"Um...is Annie okay?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, about ten minutes ago she practically ran past here. I think she was crying...I tried to stop her but she didn't listen to me."

"What? Where was she heading?"

"I think to the bathroom, but - " There was more to his sentence, but I didn't hear it. I was already pushing through people to the girls bathroom. I knocked and when no one answered I pushed the door open.

"Annie? Are you in here?"

I shut the door quietly and strained my ears and I soon heard slight whimpers from one of the stalls. I moved toward it carefully, keeping my hand outstretched in case I ran into anything.

"Annie? Sweetheart?"

"I'm...I'm here, Aug." Her voice sounded from the stall and I pushed on the door. It swung open and I took a step to have my foot collide with her's.

"Sorry," I bent down and found her curled up in a ball on the floor. "What's wrong?"

"I...I just...oh, Auggie." She flung herself into my arms and held me tight, sobbing into my shoulder.

"Annie. What's wrong? What happened?"

"Annie?" A new voice sounded in the bathroom. It was a female voice, one that I noticed belonged to a new operative, Clara. Annie had been training Clara and the two had become such good friends that she even had spent the night at our house a couple times.

"Clara?"

"Oh, Auggie. I should have known you'd be in here with her after what just happened." Her voice was closer now and I could feel her kneel next to us.

"What happened?" I demanded. I clutched Annie tighter as she sobbed harder.

"Just a second...here, Annie. Put this on your eye." Clara placed something cold between Annie and I and Annie gingerly took it.

"What? Why does she need something on her eye?"

"She...um...she got punched in the face."

"What!? By who?"

"It's...It's nothing, Auggie, you don't have to - "

"Annie," I grabbed her gently but firmly and brought her face up to mine. "Who punched you?"

It wasn't until then that I noticed that she was in workout clothes and not her skirt and blouse.

"It's fine, he just - "

"Some FBI guy. The guys on the top floors decided it'd be a good idea for CIA and FBI agents to train together. Let's just say that the FBI guys are...excuse my French...pretty much ass holes."

"One of them punched her while training?"

Clara sighed. "They said that she wasn't as good as them just because she was a girl. Then Annie took down one of them and the entire CIA side was cheering. We took a break then and one of the big, apparently top of the line, agents of the FBI came over, ripped her a new one and punched her in the face. Um...Auggie?"

I don't think I had ever felt such hate. My blood boiled. My palms became sweaty. My eyes narrowed and my brain became fuzzy.

"Auggie...don't do anything stupid..." Annie sniffed into my chest.

"Too late. Clara, take care of her." I kissed Annie's head carefully and placed her in Clara's awaiting arms.

"Auggie - "

"Don't try to stop me. Which one is he?"

"His name's Luke."

"Clara, don't tell him - "

"He'll be the biggest ass hole."

"The bigger they are the harder they fall." I stalked out of the bathroom then, quickly making my way down to the gym. I heard people scamper out of my way. I must have scared some people because no one dared to approach me...except Barber.

"Dude...what crawled up your pants and died?"

"Out of my, Barber. I've got an ass hole to punch."

"What?" Then I heard the voices.

"I heard he just came up and punched her for no reason."

"Yeah, she took his friend down and he got really upset."

"I can't believe it. How awful..."

"Jeez, Auggie looks's pissed. This is going to be a showdown."

"I kinda want to see it."

"He should have known that no one punches Auggie's girlfriend and gets away with it."

"An FBI agents versus an ex-special operative. This is going to be so awesome."

"Auggie, don't you dare do what I think you're going to do."

Barber was walking in step with me now, out of breath as he ran to keep up with my long strides.

"He's going down."

"We can do this some other way. Tell Joan..."

"I already know." I literally ran into her after descending the stairs and Barber almost slammed into me from behind.

"Joan, you can't stop - "

"I know I can't. I'm telling you to take that son of a bitch down. I have permission from the DCI for a certain special operative to teach those FBI boys a few things. You can hurt them as much as you want...you won't get in trouble."

I swore my eyebrows were in my hair. "How did you pull that one off?"

I could practically hear Joan's eyes narrow. "No one messes with my operatives."

She walked off then, probably to go tend to Annie. I smirked and rolled up my sleeves.

"You wanna come watch, Barber?"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world. You've got the entire department watching now."

"Good."

I stalked into the gym, and I could already hear the loud voices of the FBI agents.

"Oh, thank God." Another agent ran up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Please tell me you're going to show these ass holes a thing or two, Anderson."

"You bet I am." He squeezed my shoulder and backed away. I discarded my watch and shirt and walked into the middle of the gym. "Alright, who's ready to learn some special op's moves?"

The talking quieted and I could already hear the snickers.

"Wait...the guy teaching us is blind? How is that even possible?"

Oh, yeah. It's him.

"Let me guess. You're Luke."

"That's right."

"Get over here then. Let's see if you can take down a blind man."

"Easy as pie." I could heard his thundering steps and when he stood next to me he was a least a head taller. _The bigger they are the harder they fall._

I struck immediately, hitting him in the gut. He let out a big breath of air and then I brought my knee up and slammed it into his face. Bringing my arm around his neck, I grabbed him and flipped him over onto his back and then quickly kicked him.

"What!"

"Hey, you didn't even say go!"

"That's not fair!"

"Go, Auggie!"

"Whoo!"

Luke sputtered on the ground as I picked him him and pushed him against a nearby wall, pounding my knee into his chest.

After he went a little limp in my arms, I let him go and decided to let him have a small chance. He regained his breathing and I felt him shift forward, trying to take me down from the front. I sidestepped and he fell over his own feet. He stood again and this time I felt the rush of air as he pulled his arm back. I dodged and then brought my own arm forward, and felt the connection of my fist to his face.

"Arg!" I pelted him then until he stood leaning against a wall. I rushed forward bent down as I grabbed him around the waist, using all my strength and anger to fling him over my shoulder and pounded him into the ground. He didn't get up.

Everyone was silent as I walked over to him and knelt by him. I grabbed his face and brought it only centimeters from mine.

"If I _ever_ see or hear about you being near Annie again, I will personally find you and make sure that you won't have any feeling left from your waist down, do you understand? You are a new breed of ass hole. I hope you enjoyed my little presentation. I worked in special ops for a good year until I was honorably discharged with injury. And that woman you punched? Annie?" I brought him even closer. "That's my girlfriend and I'm her handler. She has completed more successful missions in four years than you will ever complete in your lifetime. Do not underestimate her."

I flung his head down on the ground. "And do no underestimate me."

I walked away, grabbing my shirt from where I threw it on the ground. There was sound then, and a rough hand grabbed my shoulder.

"How. Dare. You. You think you can just walk in here and attack one of my operatives?" Great. The FBI head dude.

"Isn't that what your operative did, sir?" I whipped my head around at the sound of the DCI's voice. "Mr. Anderson was simply showing how dangerous special operatives could be. It just so happened that Luke was the volunteer."

"But - that's - he had an agenda!"

"Doesn't matter. I asked him to show his skills, and he did. Case closed. Also, I believe that this has gone on far enough. I would kindly ask you and your operatives to leave this facility." His voice was cold and I smirked.

"Fine. We were leaving anyway. Let's go boys."

They all filed out, sending me words of hate as they passed. As I listened to them go, warm arms slid around my body.

"That. Was. Incredible."

"Annie..." I hugged her tight. "Is your eye okay?"

"It will be."

"Let me guess...they were your big girl problems?"

She sighed. "They had just been making fun of me all morning and then the whole trianing thing happened and...yeah."

"You know you can come to me with anything."

"Apparently I can. If I ever need someone beat into submission, I'll come to you."

"Sounds good."

She laughed and kissed me. "Thank you for taking care of my big girl problems."

"I'll always try to take care of your problems."

"Joan gave us the rest of the day off. How does Allen's sound?"

"Perfect."

I kept my arm around her as we headed up the stairs. Clara was waiting at Annie's desk and I heard rustling as she handed something to Annie.

"I thought you could use some."

"Ugh, thank you, Clara. It'll be gone by the end of the day."

"You're welcome. Bye Annie, bye Auggie."

She walked off and I gave her a little hidden smile. I had always liked Clara, but I didn't know why.

"What did she give you?"

"Some aged Bourbon. We're going to have a good night."

"Now I know why I like her."

Annie laughed and grabbed my hand.

"Come on Mr. Ninja, let's go have some drinks."

"Mr. Ninja?"

"You went serious ninja on him, I was impressed."

"I will forever call myself a ninja now, you know that right?"

" I know. I know."

We walked out of the DPD hand in hand while I fussed over her eye. If anyone was unclear about how protective I was of her, they certainly weren't now.

Annie Walker is a tough girl, but even she has to be fought for sometimes.

**This one was fun! I like writing angry Auggie! **

**Clara will become a reoccurring character. I have ideas for her. :) **

**Also, I have no idea ifAuggie would actually get away with that or of Joan could pull that kind of favor. Let's just assume that they can. **

**As always, please read, review and enjoy!**


	28. Muffin

**P.S. I totally agree and believe that Annie could handle herself. Seriously, she'd kick their asses to Hong Kong. (Hehe, get it? ;) ) I just needed a reason for Auggie to go all kick ass on them...so let's say Annie had a bad day. :( It's not often you get punched in the building where you work...maybe on the job...but not in the actual building. **

**Don't worry, we'll get to see some serious kick ass Annie in future chapters, it's all coming up. ;) **

**There's a little tribute to one of the bloopers. See if you can find it. ;)**

**When she brings me a muffin in the morning at work, she'll break off a chunk and call that her payment. **

"Auggie!"

I lifted my head at the sound of her voice and grimaced a bit as she tripped over the little edge on the floor.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You really should get that fixed, it's the most annoying thing ever."

"You know it's there...yet you keep tripping on it."

"Shut up."

"Why?"

"I brought you a muffin."

"Shutting up."

Her heels clicked against the tile and I felt her warm body slid up next to mine as she set something in front of me. I took a large whiff of it and grinned.

"Blueberry?"

"Your favorite."

"Love you," I pulled her down and kissed her while rubbing my hand up and down her side. I noticed that her jacket was slightly damp but I didn't question it.

"Love you, too," she sighed. I pulled away and gave her a look.

"Is everything okay? Your jacket is wet by the way..."

"I know. And yeah, everything's okay," she plopped down on my desk and my hand found it's normal resting place on her thigh. I flinched a little when I found that it was just as wet as her jacket. "It's just already been a long day."

"What happened?"

"My car broke down, I couldn't find the file full of reports I was supposed to give to Joan today so now I have to find them all on my computer again and print them off, there was a seriously long line at the bakery, a bus sprayed me with puddle water as I was walking out of said bakery, and I was subjected to an hour and a half of Danielle in my ear as she begged me to make business cards for her new catering business, you know the one she now calls _Dani's Food Imports_? And then I said yes! Am I crazy!? I have no time to do that! Ugh."

I rubbed my hand in little circles on her thigh to give what comfort I could. "I'm sorry. Are you better now?"

"A little. Now that I'm back with you. Seriously, it's like my life goes to hell when I'm not around you."

"Ditto."

"You don't look like you've had an awful morning. At least you aren't soaking wet."

"I think I can help with that."

"How?"

I stood up and found the handle of the closet door in my office. There was a bag hanging on the far left side that had been there for ages but had never been touched. I grabbed it and held it out to her.

"Remember this?"

"Oh. My. God. How did I forget? Thank you, thank you!" She snatched it from my hands and gave me a peck on the cheek. "I'll be right back."

She had left a full outfit in my office after an incident a couple years ago where she came to work in her workout clothes, trained, and then realized that she hadn't brought any other clothes with her. She made sure now that she always had an extra outfit somewhere in case something like that ever happened again. It made me smile to know that the outfit now resided in _my_ closet, instead of her gym locker.

I munched on my muffin as I typed away and waited for her to return. My desk now smelt a little damp, but the blueberry muffin overpowered the smell.

"Auggie? What smells in here?"

Guess I wasn't the only one who noticed the smell.

"Sorry Joan, it was Annie."

She didn't respond.

"She got splashed by a bus. She was soaked, thus, wet smell in my office after she came in here."

"Ah," she walked around my desk and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Would you also happen to know anything about a file that Annie was supposed to give to me today? She's usually not late with this stuff."

"Um, give me a minute. I'll see if it's on her desk."

"Thank you."

After grabbing my portable Braille keyboard, I left Joan in my office and hurried my way down to Annie's desk. Plugging in the keyboard, I quickly hacked into Annie's computer.

"Jeez, Walker, I need to teach you how to set better passwords." I muttered as I shifted through the massive files on her computer. I quickly found the ones I was looking for and printed them off.

I must have looked like a mad man, unplugging my keyboard and racing to the printer, hurridly shoving the reports into a manilla file. I raced back to my office where Joan was waiting, trying to cover my deep breaths.

"Here you go." I held it out to her and she took in gingerly. She was quiet as she flipped through it.

"Perfect. Thank you, Auggie. Thank Annie for me, too, when you see her again?"

"Of course."

Patting my back, she made her way back out of my office and onto the main floor. I sighed and leaned against my chair, popping another bite of muffin into my mouth.

"Alright, all changed." I jumped a little, not even hearing her come in. She was getting better.

"Does it still fit?"

"Like a glove. What, you thought I'd outgrow an outfit from a little over a year ago?"

"I'm not saying your fat."

"I wasn't implying that you thought I was fat. Do you think I'm fat?"

"No! That's not what I was saying at all." I gasped. My face was probably red from embarrassment, or fear that I was going to get hit. But she only laughed.

"Sure it wasn't," I heard her open the closet again and hang the bag back up. "I hate to cut this short, but I have to go reprint those things for Joan."

"No you don't."

"What?"

"I already did. They're in her possession."

"Oh, Auggie, thank yo- wait a minute. How did you get into my computer?"

"I really need to teach you how to make better passwords."

"I forgot. I have a hacker boyfriend."

"I do it out of love."

She scoffed and ran her hand through my hair. "Really, thank you. Now I can actually do some work that has to be done by next week instead of backtracking."

"No problem," I smiled as she kissed my cheek. "By the way, what happened with your car?"

"It broke down as I was leaving the parking lot so it lasted me maybe a total of five seconds. I got it towed and right now it's in the shop."

"Where?"

"Where else? Ed's Car Repair is the only affordable one in town."

I bit my lip. "But they take forever."

"I know." She groaned.

"Why don't you just go relax. Take a break."

"I haven't done any work, Auggie."

"Then go type a report. Do some boring work stuff and then come back up here and chat with me." I gave her a mega watt grin and was rewarded with her laugh.

"Sounds good. I'll be back." She squeezed my hand and walked out of my office. I waited until I heard the glass doors close before turning to my computer. I looked up the number I needed and picked up my cell phone. Punnching in the number I waited through the seemingly endless dial tones.

"Hello, Mary's Advertising Boutique, how may I help you?"

Seriously? _Advertising Boutique_? What's with the weird names today?

"Hi. I need some business cards made for a catering business."

"Alright, what's the name of the company?"

"Dani's Food Imports D-A-N-I apostrophe S. F-O-O-D, I-M-P-O-R-T-S."

"What would you like them to look like?"

"Surprise me, but make it food themed, obviously. The caterer is very professional and does excellent work so they need to look classy but still friendly."

"That I can do. How many do you need and when?"

"Over five hundred. I assume they'll be mailed out, as well. Just as soon as possible on the finishing date. How much?"

"For five hundred? One fifty."

"Done."

"Can I get a name for payment?"

"August Anderson."

"What about the name of the caterer and the phone number that should be on the cards?"

"Danielle Brooks. 701-556-8793."

"Alright, Mr. Anderson, I'll have you pay for them when you come to pick them up."

"Thank you."

"Thank you for your business."

She hung up and I slid my phone back onto my desk. It took me about halfway through the report I was typing to realize I had just spent one hundred and fifty dollars on my girlfriend's sister without either of them asking me to.

Oh well. I just hoped the cards looked cool.

A couple hours went by and my mood slowly dampened. The weather wasn't great, I was stuck in my office, I hadn't seen or heard from Annie in a while, and I still hadn't finished my muffin yet. It had grown a little cold sitting by my computer so I gave it some attention while I took a break from my work.

"Hey, Auggie?"

"Yeah?" I spun in my chair toward the door, my mouth unfortunately full of muffin.

"Danielle just called me. She was really excited and when I asked what happened she said that she just got a call from a store saying that she had five hundred business cards being made for her and she loved the design when they explained it to her. She thanked me over and over again but I still haven't done anything with it." She put her hands on each side of my chair and leaned closer to me. "Would you have anything to do with that?"

Seeing as my mouth was full, I just shook my head.

"Auggie, I know you're lying."

I swallowed hard. "I'm not."

"Oh yeah?"

She snatched my phone off the table and I reached carelessly to try to grab it. I heard a couple swipes and then an intake of breath.

"I knew it! Auggie, that's the number that called her! You ordered five hundred cards and you expect yourself to pay for them?"

"I just took a load off your back and your berating me for it?"

"One hundred and fifty dollars! That's a lot of money!"

"Nothing my salary can't pay."

She groaned but handed me back my phone. "I'll help pay."

"No, you won't."

"Why not?"

"Consider it my gift to you for the day."

"Auggie, you already gave me a new outfit and saved me from being the victim of an angry Joan. What more could you do for me today?"

"Oh, I could think of a couple things."

She laughed lightly. "Don't even."

"But I can." I quickly grabbed my phone and dialed a number I knew from heart.

"Auggie...who are you calling."

"Hello?" I knew he'd answer.

"Hey, Fred, it's Auggie. Hey, can I ask for a favor tonight?"

"Auggie..."

"Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

"You see, Annie's car broke down and she isn't having the best day. So I was wondering if you'd take us over to Caesar Park tonight so I can take her on a picnic date?"

"Auggie!"

"Sure! What time?"

"Can you pick us up from Langley around seven thirty?"

"Definitely."

"See you then. Thanks Fred."

"Yep!" I ended the call and grinned at her.

"Sounds like we have a date tonight."

"And where are you going to get picnic food?"

"Do not underestimate the fridges of the tech ops. They never disappoint."

She was silent, probably gaping at me, then her lips were on mine. After a minute, we both broke apart for air.

"What was that for?"

"For being probably the most incredible boyfriend ever."

"I am pretty incredible."

She rubbed my shoulders. "Seriously, though. You've taken care of all of my problems that I had today. You're Superman."

"Not quite. I couldn't solve your long line at the bakery problem."

"Hmm," she stopped rubbing my shoulders. "I think we can solve that together."

She leaned over me and grabbed something from my desk. Soon, I heard her chewing on something light.

"Did you just steal part of my muffin?"

"Consider that my payment."

I laughed and hugged her. "You can have the rest. I enjoyed too much of it, anyway."

"Oh, I was hoping you'd say that. I'm starving." She stole the rest of my muffin and walked toward the sliding glass doors.

"So, I'll see you at seven thirty?" I asked.

"I won't be late. By the way, this is me winking at you."

I winked back playfully as I heard her heels hit the staircase. Sighing contently, I laid on my elbows and thought about what I wanted to pack for our picnic date. There was a lot of food in our refridgerators.

There's bound to be some muffins in there somewhere.

**I have no idea where this one came from or where it went. I seriously just started typing and saw what came out. This is it. My random typing put into a chapter. It was pretty much just Auggie being cute and taking care of Annie...again. XD Well, I hope you liked it anyway! Please read, review, and enjoy!**


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